LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 28/2012

Bible Quotation for today/Jesus Warns against the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
Matthew 23: "Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples. “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized interpreters of Moses' Law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice what they preach. They tie onto people's backs loads that are heavy and hard to carry, yet they aren't willing even to lift a finger to help them carry those loads. They do everything so that people will see them. Look at the straps with scripture verses on them which they wear on their foreheads and arms, and notice how large they are! Notice also how long are the tassels on their cloaks! They love the best places at feasts and the reserved seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Teacher.’ You must not be called ‘Teacher,’ because you are all equal and have only one Teacher. And you must not call anyone here on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only the one Father in heaven. Nor should you be called ‘Leader,’ because your one and only leader is the Messiah. The greatest one among you must be your servant. Whoever makes himself great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be made great."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Lebanon’s year of living dangerously/By Michael Young/The Daily Star/December 28/12
The war that al-Assad won/By Samir Atallah/Asharq Alawsat/December 28/12

Where are Obama and Netanyahu's nuclear clocks?
DEBKAfile Special Report December 26, 2012/Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his deputy, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon, suddenly woke up Tuesday, Dec. 25, when at the launch of their Likud-Beitenu election campaign, they were asked what had happened to the dire Iranian nuclear threat. “It will soon be back in the headlines,” they said. “Not a day goes by without it receiving our attention,” said sources close to the prime minister. “The nuclear clock is still ticking” - and it is fact that National Security Adviser Yaacov Amidror has made several recent trips to Washington to discuss the issue with American colleagues. “Now we are waiting for Barack Obama to form his new government,” Yaalon remarked. But Obama and his government will only be sworn in on January 21, and the next day Israel itself goes to the polls. On past performance, an incoming Israel prime minister takes weeks, if not months, to assemble a new government. Iran has therefore been given the gift of at least three months to play with before either administration is ready for strategic decision-making with regard to preemptive action against its nuclear program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei can therefore rest easy until the late spring of 2013.
Dennis Ross, Obama’s former adviser on Iran, who is well versed in White House thinking and has good access to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, said in an interview Monday that, for the moment, the Iranians “are not convinced we are prepared to use force.” Speaking to the Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post, Ross said he believed 2013 would be the critical year.
debkafile connects this remark to a comment President Obama made while campaigning for reelection: He spoke of Iran attaining “breakout capacity” next year - a development which must be prevented, because it means, “we would not be able to intervene in time to stop their nuclear program.” For breakout capacity, Iran would have to acquire the materials – highly-enriched uranium and components for a weapon - and the knowhow to build nuclear weapons quickly if it is so decided. A decision could be too fast for US intelligence, or presumably Israel, to catch in time to take action. It was this eventuality which Obama said must be prevented.
The current situation poses two problems. Although the US president has often expressed his determination to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, he has never explained how he would achieve this, or promised to use force if nothing else availed. The other problem is that, according to debkafile’s intelligence and Iranian sources, Tehran has already reached “breakout capacity.”
This phrase has therefore become a convenient slogan for delayed action, another red line to be missed, like the ones set by Netanyahu in his cartoon presentation to the UN Assembly last September, such as 20-percent enriched uranium. Khamenei has rejected the stipulations the United States laid down in the secret direct negotiations held earlier this month for settling the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. And there are no signs he is worried about repercussions. The only true words about the current stalemate were heard from Dennis Ross, that the Iranians “are not convinced we are prepared to use force.” The rest is spin.

Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea: Threats to March 14 bar Dialogue participation
The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea said Thursday that political assassinations and attempts on the lives of March 14 figures were preventing the Lebanese opposition from taking part in National Dialogue called for by President Michel Sleiman.
“After 25 attempts of political assassinations, the [National] Dialogue table is almost vacant of March 14 representatives,” said Geagea during a news conference from his Maarab residence.
In an open letter to Sleiman on behalf of the March 14 coalition, Geagea expressed the opposition’s appreciation for the president’s efforts to end the political crisis in the country.
However, he said a “policy of intimidation” by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance prevented the opposition from responding positively to the president’s repeated calls for talks to resume.
“Our boycott of Dialogue is directed at the powers using the talks to practice a policy of intimidation as well as blackmail at the security and political levels,” Geagea said.
The opposition launched its boycott of National Dialogue following the October assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan, who headed the police’s Information Branch.
The March 14 alliance also conditioned its participation in the all-party talks to the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government, which it accuses of being dominated by Hezbollah.
The opposition, which blames Damascus for Hasan’s killing, also holds the government responsible through providing what it says was the political cover needed for the assassination to occur.
Geagea said Thursday that the March 14 coalition did not oppose the principle of Dialogue and said that it “has long sought to return to a Dialogue table that does not include a gun pointed at its head.”
The LF leader accused his rivals of seeking to use the National Dialogue as a platform for Hezbollah to impose its weapons on the rest of Lebanon.
“The March 8 team is trying to take advantage of [National] Dialogue to impose its illegitimate arms and secure the political gains it failed to obtain through intimidation and assassinations,” said Geagea.
After attending Christmas Mass in Bkirki Tuesday, the president lashed out at both March 8 and March 14 camps and said he could not see any meaning in the opposition’s boycotting of Dialogue.
Sleiman urged all rivals to attend a Dialogue Session set for Jan. 7 and said the all-party-talks would be aimed at helping in settling the political crisis in the country.
The president, who has repeatedly called for the resumption of all-party talks, also asked whether there was any alternative to National Dialogue.
Responding to Sleiman, Geagea said: “The alternative [to Dialogue] is the resignation of the current Cabinet and the formation of a new one in accordance with constitutional procedures.”
The LF leader also reiterated the March 14 call for Mikati’s resignation as well as the formation of a “neutral salvation Cabinet” that would oversee the 2013 parliamentary elections.
Geagea also slammed accusations that the opposition was trying to avoid the adoption of a new law to govern the upcoming elections and said the March 14 had taken positive steps to demonstrate otherwise.
He also said the opposition was willing to go back to Parliament to discuss the electoral law and vote on a new bill. “We are willing to return to Parliament to discuss a fair electoral parliamentary law once the speaker issues a call for a session aimed solely for this purpose,” said Geagea.

Sleiman urges rivals to agree on elections law
December 27, 2012/The Daily Star
BAABDA, Lebanon: President Michel Sleiman called during a year-end Cabinet meeting Thursday for a speedy agreement on a new election law that will allow elections to be held on time. “Parliamentary elections must be held in a timely manner,” Sleiman told Cabinet, which convened in an ordinary session at the presidential palace in Baabda. Forty-nine items were on Thursday’s agenda, which kicked off at 10.30 a.m. Regarding the thorny issue of the wage hike for teachers and public sector employees, Sleiman said Cabinet needed more time to “carefully” study ways to finance the updated salary scale. Earlier Thursday, a group of teachers held a protest on the road leading to Baabda Palace over the salary scale, which they insist should be referred to Parliament. Prior to the session, Sleiman held one-on-one talks with Prime Minister Najib Mikati.During the ministerial meeting, Sleiman also said the government would dedicate a session on Jan. 3 to discuss the issue of the growing number of refugees fleeing into the country from the violence in Syria. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, according to its latest update on the situation of Syrian refugees, says there are over 160,000 displaced Syrians who have registered with the U.N. refugee agency in Lebanon.
Turning to the case of the Lebanese hostages in Syria, Sleiman urged that the kidnappers release those still being held in Lebanon’s neighbor as “the ongoing abduction of Lebanese in Syria does not serve the kidnappers’ cause.”Sleiman also stressed that he and Mikati were personally following up on the case of the Lebanese hostages.
The president reiterated his call for a resumption of National Dialogue.“All these issues require everybody’s presence at the [National] Dialogue table,” Sleiman told ministers.
The president has set Jan. 7 as the date for the resumption of all-party talks, which the opposition has boycotted. The March 14 alliance boycotted the talks following the October assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, one of the country’s top security officials. The opposition insists on the resignation of Mikati’s government and has called for the formation of a neutral Cabinet to oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Suleiman Calls for 'Ending Threats' to Target Foreign Interests in Lebanon
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that threats to target foreign countries' interests in Lebanon will have negative impact on the country after the families of abducted Lebanese pilgrims in Syria warned of targeting Turkish interests if the men weren't released soon. The president, during the final cabinet session of 2012 held at the Baabda Palace, pointed out that he is directly following up the case along with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the competent ministerial committee. On May 22, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo district as they were making their way back by land from a pilgrimage in Iran.
One was released in late August and another in September, while the rest remain in the Aleppo town of Aazaz.
On Monday, the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens to be careful and take caution, after the families of the abducted pilgrims threatened over the weekend to target Turkey's interests in the country.
Concerning the conditions of the Syrian refugees fleeing the bloody conflict in their home country for Lebanon, Suleiman said that the cabinet will tackle the matter during a session on January 3, 2013 at the Baabda Palace.
There are currently more than 150,000 Syrian refugees in the country, according to figures released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Over the sharp difference among the March 14 and 8 alliances on the new electoral law, the president called on the foes to exert efforts to end the dispute to carry out the elections on time, which requires all officials to attend the all-party talks set on January 7. Discussions on a new electoral law stopped in the aftermath of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Wissam al-Hasan on Oct. 19 when the opposition boycotted the government, dialogue and cabinet related meetings in parliament. The coalition called for the resignation of Miqati's government and the formation of a new one to oversee the 2013 parliamentary elections.
But it later agreed to a proposal made by Speaker Nabih Berri for the members of the subcommittee to stay at a hotel near parliament under heavy protection to attend the meetings.

Lebanese Cabinet Approves Regulations at Petroleum Authority, to Tackle Refugees File on Jan. 3
Naharnet /Cabinet approved on Thursday the regulations at the petroleum authority, while introducing amendments to the salaries of its employees.Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said at the end of the last session of 2012 that the salaries will be lowered from L.L.36 million to L.L.25 million. The government had approved on November 27 the six members of the authority in an effort to speed up the exploitation of Lebanon's offshore oil wealth. Abou Faour also revealed that the cabinet will convene on January 3 in order to tackle the file of Syrian and Palestinian refugees flowing into Lebanon from neighboring Syria.
MTV reported that the minister had complained to Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour about the letter sent by Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali to the Foreign Ministry accusing the Social Affairs Ministry and Higher Relief Council of providing aid to the “armed takfiri groups” in Syria. Abou Faour had hoped during a press conference on Wednesday that Mansour reject the letter, “especially since its allegations are baseless.”
“The large number of refugees in Lebanon fled the criminal Syrian regime and not the terrorism of so-called takfiri groups,” he added. “It is unacceptable for any ambassador to accuse or criticize any Lebanese ministry or administration,” he declared.Ali had said in the letter sent to the Foreign Ministry on December 5 that Syrian refugees in Lebanon have been complaining that some “extremists” are exploiting the needs of these refugees to turn them against the regime of President Bashar Assad. Earlier on Thursday, An Nahar daily reported that Energy Minister Jebran Bassil's proposal concerning the salaries of the appointed six-member petroleum authority would be confronted by several ministers. "The salaries proposed for the petroleum authority members are normal in comparison with workers in the international petroleum sector," Bassil told reporters before entering the session.
He had previously suggested that the monthly salary of each member of the authority be fixed to nearly $24,000 to motivate them to remain in their positions and not be drawn to offers by private international companies.
The authority members and their families will also benefit from full healthcare. The formation of the Petroleum Authority in November was the first major step in future oil exploration since parliament passed a law in 2011 setting the country's maritime boundary and Exclusive Economic Zone.

Lebanon’s year of living dangerously
By Michael Young/The Daily Star
December 27, 2012/
Lebanon never ceases to depress, and the Lebanese never cease to depress by harping on that fact. And yet, as 2012 closes, with mediocrity on all sides, there are hopeful signs of better. And this may shape how we behave next year. The most hopeful sign of 2012 was that the Lebanese avoided war, and were infused with a very real sense that events in Syria must not overwhelm civil peace in Lebanon. Instead, the Lebanese fought each other by proxy, with Hezbollah and Lebanese Sunni groups sending combatants to Syria to prevent or accelerate Bashar Assad’s downfall, assuming this would somehow affect their fate at home.
There were moments of worrisome exception. On the night of Wissam al-Hasan’s funeral, gunmen in Tariq al-Jadideh began firing on quarters in which Shiite parties are based. The army intervened the following day to bring the gunmen to heel. Fighting between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen has been frequent, though mostly containable. And in Sidon, the men of Ahmad al-Assir entered into a gunbattle with Hezbollah, reminding us that the southern city remains a dangerous confrontation line between Sunnis and Shiites.
This is hardly proof that all is well, but the Lebanese in their majority recoiled before any prospect of new violence. This was especially true of the botched effort by March 14 members to forcibly overthrow Prime Minister Najib Mikati by storming the Serail building after Hasan’s burial. Even March 14 supporters were shocked by this display of loutishness that echoed behavior they had once denounced in Hezbollah, which, with its allies, sought in 2006-08 to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora.
Which brings us to another promising sign from 2012, namely that many Lebanese began seeing the advantages of the political center. With March 14 having broken off all relations with Hezbollah, it was inevitable that the Lebanese would be drawn to political forces able to speak to both sides. One shouldn’t over-idealize the center, whose influence remains relatively limited. However, its ability to stand aloof of polarization is something the Lebanese have applauded.
For President Michel Sleiman, who embodies the center better than most, the slogan has been continued dialogue. He seeks to reinvigorate a National Dialogue, which is today rejected by March 14, on the grounds that one cannot hold a dialogue with killers. But as many Lebanese accept, when the well-being of the state is at play, everything is possible. They do not want their country thrown into a new civil war because political coalitions aren’t willing to speak to one another. And if dialogue is hypocritical, then better a hypocritical dialogue that defuses tensions to none whatsoever, which makes violent behavior more likely in the future.
What will all this mean at election time next year? It’s not clear that the center has the electoral weight to challenge Hezbollah or March 14. Lebanon remains polarized, despite it all, which is why there are those at both extremes who argue that supporting the political center is a waste of time. Yet polarization may mean that the representatives of the center, Sleiman or the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, may emerge from next year’s elections again holding the balance of power in parliament, and will be essential in forming a government.
Even the international community, through foreign ambassadors in Beirut, are tired of the March 14-Hezbollah rift. The ambassadors, alas, now seem to regard March 14 as part of the problem in Lebanon. Hopefully this will change, but in the meantime there is more comfort with the political actors in the middle, who are willing to use constitutional means to limit Hezbollah’s ability to bend the system in its own direction. The party will not disappear, whatever happens in Syria, the envoys feel, so it’s best to keep an open channel to Hezbollah’s leadership to negotiate a solution to their weapons.
The Lebanese also went through the year without an economic collapse. The advantages are limited, given that many Lebanese are asking that a salary increase be implemented. For bankers, such a step would spell the collapse of the pound, and would shake the banking system to the very core.
It’s debatable whether next year will be better. Lebanon is suffering from the negative effects of the Syrian conflict, which has suffocated Lebanon’s overland export trade, has limited the number of Arab tourists driving to Lebanon, and has cut into Syrian and Arab demand for Lebanese goods and services. That’s not heartening, but nor is it bad news that the country has managed to keep its head above water despite 21 months of a debilitating war on its doorstep. The year 2013 may be difficult for the Lebanese economically. Yet much will depend on what happens in Syria. If the Assad regime collapses relatively quickly, Lebanon may be at the forefront of reconstruction there. Assad’s departure may usher in a period of instability, and may even force rival Lebanese alignments to clash with one another. On the other hand, this is hardly inevitable, and Assad’s exit may, instead, help stabilize a Lebanon that has spent decades shaking to the rhythms of Syrian-imposed volatility.
With the Assads gone, Hezbollah’s ability to wage war will be greatly reduced. The party is aware that most Lebanese, including Shiites, are not eager to go to war with Israel. No one wants to face the consequences of such a conflict, above all the destruction that would ensue, especially if it is perceived as a favor done to Iran.
The past year has not been an easy one for the Lebanese, and next year may bring more headaches. However, bad years impose modesty, and the Lebanese have few illusions left. Fear of violence, a desire for dialogue and economic vulnerability are not things that induce recklessness. In that conclusion lies hope for a people forever afflicted with doubts about their future.
Michael Young is opinion editor of THE DAILY STAR. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Iran president sacks cabinet's sole woman
TEHRAN, (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked Health Minister Marizeh Vahid Dastjerdi, the sole woman in his cabinet, state television reported on Thursday.
The minister had proposed price hikes for a number of medicines due to the plunge of the Iranian rial against the US dollar and Western sanctions imposed on the country over its disputed nuclear programme.
But Ahmadinejad was opposed to the price rises and dismissed the minister. Although the sanctions do not directly target medicines, they limit their importation because of restrictions on financial transactions.
Iran produces 97 percent of the drugs on its market, but their ingredients are imported. In October, an Iranian official acknowledged the price of locally produced medicines had increased by 15-20 percent in the past three months, and 20-80 percent for imported products. Fatemeh Hashemi, head of the Foundation for Special Diseases, sent a letter to UN chief Ban Ki-moon in August asking him to make a case to the West for easing sanctions that are detrimental to patients. Tehran is under different rounds of sanctions designed by the United States, European Union and the UN Security Council to pressure it to curb its nuclear programme.
Western powers suspect Iran is using the programme to develop atomic weapons capability. The Islamic republic denies that and says its nuclear activities are purely peaceful.

Christian MP quits Egypt upper house as tensions persist
December 27, 2012/By Tamim Elyan/Daily Star
CAIRO: A Christian member of Egypt's upper house of parliament quit on Thursday, reflecting persistent political tensions just a day after the Islamist-dominated chamber took over legislative authority under a contentious new constitution. The Islamist-backed charter, approved in a referendum this month, is meant to be the cornerstone of a democratic and economically stable Egypt. But the opposition says it is too Islamist and does nothing to protect minorities.The resignation of Nadia Henry, who represents the Anglican Church in the upper house, also highlights worries by Egypt's Christians, who make up about a tenth of its 83 million population, about political gains made by Islamists since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a 2011 revolution.
Under pressure to show tolerance towards all groups, President Mohamed Mursi appointed 90 members including Christians, Liberals and women to the upper house - with Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafis - last week. But in a resignation letter published by the state-owned al-Ahram newspaper, Henry said liberal and other minority groups were not represented properly in the chamber.
"I agreed to the membership of the Shura Council (upper house) in the context of consensus that stressed all civil forces will get appointed," Henry wrote.
"Since that did not happen, I hope you accept my apology for not accepting the appointment," she said.
She did not attend the upper house session on Wednesday, the first with the appointed members.
The opposition fears that the Shura Council upper house, which will hold legislative authority until a new parliament is elected in early 2013, will issue laws curbing freedoms.
Mursi signed the new constitution into law this week after two thirds of Egyptian voters approved it in a two-stage referendum this month which the opposition said was marred by widespread violations.
Propelled to power by his Muslim Brotherhood allies this year, Mursi says the constitution and a subsequent vote to elect a permanent lower house will help stop political unrest and allow him to focus on burning economic issues. Henry was one of the 90 members handpicked by Mursi into the 270-seat council. She was not immediately available for comment.
Any further resignations would threaten the legitimacy of the Shura Council at a time when it is expected to move fast with difficult reforms key to helping Egypt's battered economy.
Two-thirds of the upper house were elected in a vote this year, with one third appointed by the president, some of whom are members of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and other ultra-conservative Salafis. Mursi and his Islamist allies have urged the opposition to engage in national unity talks to achieve much needed consensus to help end an economic crisis that has widened the budget deficit and sent the Egyptian pound to a eight-year low. "We stress again that the nation should achieve internal reconciliation and forget its differences," the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide, Mohamed Badei, told Egyptians in his weekly message.
"Let's work seriously to end the reciprocal wars of attrition. We are in an urgent need to unify ranks and group together and focus our capabilities and assets to the general benefit."
The constitution has come under attack from Mursi's opponents after Christians and liberals quit an assembly tasked with drafting the constitution earlier, saying the document gave no guarantees of a civil state and threatened freedoms.

Envoy calls for transitional government in Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — The international envoy charged with pushing to end Syria's civil war called on Thursday for the formation of a transitional government with "full executive powers" to run the country until new elections can be held. Lakhdar Brahimi is apparently seeking to revive a peace plan launched by world powers in Geneva in June that never took off because neither side was interested in carrying it out. The original Geneva plan called for the establishment of a national unity government with full executive powers that could include members of Assad's government, the opposition and other groups. It was to oversee the drafting of a new constitution and elections.Because of Russian objections, that plan did not call specifically for Assad's ouster, nor did it ban him from participation in the new government — making it a non-starter with the opposition. "The Syrian people seek genuine change," Brahimi told reporters in Damascus, adding that the transitional period "must not lead to the collapse of the state or the state's institutions." On Thursday, Brahimi did not specify how his plan would treat Assad, and said it still needed to be determined whether the called-for elections would be for president or parliament. The Syrian government did not immediately comment on Brahimi's suggestion. In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevic said Russia is trying to revive the June plan. He also reaffirmed Moscow's objection to calls for Assad's ouster. Anti-regime activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since crisis began in March 2011.

Single Gulf Currency: Closer to reality
By Shuja al-Baqmi/Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat – The draft Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] single currency project – which represents the most controversial and contentious issue being discussed by the GCC – has now entered a historic phase in terms of implementation, according to reports. This comes after the GCC’s 33rd summit called for initiatives with announced deadlines to be put forward to transition towards a state of greater financial and economic integration between GCC states. The lack of resolution regarding the single Gulf currency is one of the leading obstacles to GCC economic integration. As a result, GCC states are likely to step up their meetings over the forthcoming months with the objective of reaching an agreement to resolve the single currency issue. Well-informed Gulf sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that resolving the single currency issue is a goal that many GCC states are seeking to achieve, adding “there will be no Gulf Union in the economic sense without a single currency. There are some obstacles that have prevented the resolution of this issue, and this is something that must be remedied in light of the recommendations of the GCC summit that is taking place in Manama over the current week.”Commenting on the latest developments, renowned financial expert Faisal al-Oqab told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Gulf region moving to a state of union will accelerate the process of establishing a single currency. He said “in the event of the establishment of a comprehensive Gulf Union, it would be natural to see the disappearance of all obstacles that have prevented the issuance of a single currency.”Al-Oqab expressed his hope that the GCC states would succeed in resolving the single currency issue over the forthcoming year. He added that the delay in implementing the single currency project – it was first announced nearly 8 years ago – indicates the presence of a number of problems and obstacles that must be resolved.
In the face of these developments, the final communique of the 33rd GCC summit saw the GCC leadership express their satisfaction at the significant growth witnessed by GCC states economies, in addition to what has been achieved in terms of comprehensive development in various sectors. The final communique also called on the relevant financial committees to quickly implement what was put forward in the economic agreement regarding unifying economic and monetary policies, completing Gulf Union infrastructure and ensuring the availability of job opportunities for citizens.
According to the final communique, the GCC also called for the implementation of practical programs based on announced deadlines for transition towards economic integration between GCC states.
For his part, Financial and Economic expert, Fahad Al Mashari, previously informed Asharq Al-Awsat that “those in the Gulf are looking forward to financially benefitting from this project, which will see GCC states moving from a state of cooperation to one of union” adding “perhaps one of the most prominent projects being looked forward to by those in the Gulf is the launch of a single Gulf currency.”
Al Mashari attributed the stalling of the Gulf single currency project over the past years to a number of obstacles, but confirmed that these obstacles would be swept away when the GCC moves from a state of cooperation to one of union. He called on this file to be resolved as soon as possible. Al Mashari added “in reality, the completion of the draft Gulf Union single currency project will enhance the Gulf state’s ability to negotiate with the rest of the world, economically and commercially, whilst this will also help us compete with the European single currency.”The Financial and Economic expert also stressed that it is in the public interest for the GCC to transition from a stage of cooperation to one of unity as quickly as possible, adding this will enhance economic growth in Gulf States.

The war that al-Assad won
By Samir Atallah/Asharq Alawsat
President Bashar al-Assad has won part of the war that has been waged against him as a result of a so-called universal conspiracy and which first began in the city of Deraa in 2011. He said that this crisis would extend to engulf the entire region, and this is what indeed came to pass: Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan are all currently drowning in an ocean of Syrian refugees. In the international sphere, the UN Security Council seems paralyzed, whilst Russia seems to be in the midst of a schizophrenic episode, with [Foreign Minister] Lavrov in the evening refuting what was announced by [President] Putin in the morning! As for China, it seems to have been struck with a case of laryngitis, remaining silent at all times, whilst the US is preoccupied with the changing of the guard at the State Department.
As for what al-Assad has failed to win in this war; this includes Damascus airport, the city of Aleppo, the safety and security of Syria as a whole, not to mention bread for the Syrian people who elected him when he was only thirty-four years of age! The Syrian people elected him as President of the Syrian Arab Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian armed forces.
The al-Assad regime may have survived until now, but what remains of Syria? The army may remain cohesive, but the military is failing every new exam. The Syrian economy may not have announce its complete collapse as of yet, but the devastation and destruction that has afflicted the country has weakened this economy for decades to come. With the exception of military confrontations and the bakery massacres, everything in Syria has come to a virtual standstill. Lakhdar Brahimi's arrival from Beirut is a bad omen. It is customary for visitors to arrive in Damascus first, only then are they allowed to travel to Beirut. Similarly, sending the Syrian Interior Minister to Beirut for medical treatment is a bad sign. This indicates that certain locations in this universal war are truly crisis-stricken.
The press conference given by the Syrian Minister of Information represented another signal: only local media journalists attended this, whilst the setting appeared extremely bleak. As for the content of this press conference, this was rhetorical and did not contain any real news or information. Initially, people thought the Information Minister was going to discuss or explain Lakhdar Brahimi’s mission, however instead he claimed to have no knowledge of this visit, despite the fact that al-Manar TV had announced Brahimi’s visit the day before. The logical hypothesis would be that al-Manar TV had gotten this information from Damascus, rather than the international envoy. Ultimately this press conference – if not the performance of the Information Minister – was counter-productive. The regime may have begun to win the Russia battle, however what is important is the battle for Damascus. The regime continues to repeat rejections of foreign presence and intervention when the major issue revolves around Damascus airport. The regime also celebrated Brahimi’s impending arrival by bombarding a bread queue in Aleppo, as if it wants the international envoy’s mission to fail even before it starts. We have not seen anything new in Damascus in terms of political discourse, performance and phenomenon; it is as if Deraa [birthplace of the Syrian revolution] never happened! However from the outside, Syria appears as far as possible from this frozen image and stereotypical language. Indeed, Syria seems sorrowful in everything.