LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 26/2012

Bible Quotation for today/Coming Persecutions)
Matthew 10: "16-24: "Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles.19 When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death.22 Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.  No pupil is greater than his teacher; no slave is greater than his master. So a pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and a slave like his master. If the head of the family is called Beelzebul, the members of the family will be called even worse names!

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
By restraining Israel, Obama is helping Iran get the bomb/By Avigdor Haselkorn/February 25/12
A Woman catches al-Assad in a trap/By Tariq Alhomayed/February 25/12
Syria: Were the journalists deliberately targeted/By: Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/February 25/12
If there were no Iranian threat/By Doron Rosenblum/February 25/12
An unusual telephone call/By Tariq Alhomayed/February 25/12
Will Walid Jumblat lead/By: Michael Young/February 25/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 25/12
Israeli Defense official Amos Gilad: Hezbollahstan has 45,000 missiles
US to announce aerial blockade on Syria
Red Cross corridor to Homs - start of foreign intervention in Syria
Iran defense minister: Attack will lead to Israel's collapse
Report: U.S. bolsters defenses in Gulf amid Iran tensions
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal backs arms for Syrian rebels
Hamas ditches Assad, backs Syria revolt
'Friends of Syria' vow support for opposition
Obama: International community must use every tool available to stop Syria slaughter
'Iran ready to wipe Israel off the map'
UN watchdog: Iran rapidly increases controversial nuclear work
Iran calls nuclear watchdog to resume talks
Iran: IAEA report proves 'peaceful nature' of nuclear program
'Friends of Syria' Urge Sanctions, End to Violence as Tunisia Calls for Yemen-like Deal
France says tougher sanctions needed against Syria regime
Saudi FM backs arms for Syrian rebels
Hamas PM: Syrian rebels are heroes
Assad 'Not Ready to Resign', Says Russian MP
Red Cross in Syria fails to evacuate foreign journalists from Homs
Putin Says West Seeking 'Regime Change' in Iran
Christian's killing in Nigeria inflames tensions  
Ban proposes three candidates for replacement of Bellemare
Nadim Gemayel: Syria govt uses minorities as human shield
Nasrallah: Lebanon Chose to Distance Itself from Regional Events to Preserve the Govt.
Nasrallah says Israel threats part of psychological warfare  
Hizbullah Operative in Iraq to Face U.S. Military Charges
Women’s spring: Is Lebanon ready for a feminist political party?  
The ridicules Charade of unjustly sentencing Lebanese Citizens on charges of being Israeli spies goes on
Retired Judge Salim Jreissati appointed new labor minister
Mikati, Sleiman emerge winners in deal to end Cabinet crisis
Gemayel Discusses with Berri 'Ideas to Reinforce Consensus'
Suleiman: Some Flaws in the State Need to Be Addressed to Fortify Taef Accord
Al-Mustaqbal Says Aoun Lost on 3 Fronts, Blames him for Adjournment of Legislative Session

Israeli Defense official Amos Gilad: Hezbollahstan has 45,000 missiles
Roi Kais/Ynetnews
Defense official Amos Gilad tells Kuwaiti paper Hezbollah has turned into well-armed independent entity without Lebanese leaders' knowledge.
Hezbollah has accumulated 45,000 missiles that pose a threat to Israel, a senior Defense Ministry official told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai Saturday. According to Defense Ministry Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs Amos Gilad, Iran and Syria supplied the missiles to the group using ships, planes and trains. Gilad told the newspaper that Lebanon's leaders are unaware of these developments, creating a vacuum that has given rise to a new, independent entity he dubbed "Hezbollastan." The entity smuggles weapons without need for permission from the Lebanese tax authorities, Gilad said.The defense official addressed Iran's nuclear development, saying that it poses Israel and the world's top challenge. He accused the regime in Tehran of intending to use nuclear strategy not only against the Jewish, but also against Arab regimes and the Gulf nations. Gilad expressed confidence in the protesters in Syria, saying that they will eventually compel President Bashar Assad to stop the violence and implement reform. He added that Israel would want to sign a peace agreement with Syria, if it weren't for Damascus' cooperation with terror groups.

Iran defense minister: Attack will lead to Israel's collapse
By The Associated Press
Statement by Gen. Ahmad Vahidi is one of strongest from Iran on how it would respond to an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities.Iran's defense minister says an Israeli attack will lead to Israel's collapse.
The comments by Gen. Ahmad Vahidi are one of the strongest statements from Iran that it will punish Israel should it attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Vahidi's remarks were posted on the state-run Press TV's website Saturday. Israel has recently increased its rhetoric warning of the need to halt Iran's nuclear development. The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. Israel views Iran as an existential threat. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the U.S. is increasing both its sea- and land-based defense assets in the Strait of Hormuz region, in an effort to counter any Iranian effort to close the strategic waterway in the Persian Gulf. According to the report, the U.S. military has informed Congress of plans to preposition new mine-detection and clearing equipment and expand surveillance capabilities in the area of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. defense officials were also quoted as saying that the military wants to modify weapons systems on ships so they can used against Iranian fast-attack boats and shore-launched cruise missiles. Iran has said it could close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude oil passes, to shipping in response to Western sanctions over its nuclear program. The United States has vowed to keep the waterway open.

'Iran ready to wipe Israel off the map'
Dudi Cohen/Ynetnews
Tehran's deputy defense minister warns Jerusalem against strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, says 'any action by Zionist regime will bring about its destruction'. As speculations over a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities grow, the Islamic Republic is exacerbating its rhetoric. Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Friday warned Israel against mounting such an attack: "Any act by the Zionist regime against Iran will bring about its destruction." Hezbollah, he added, "Is at the forefront of the fight against Israel and it is growing stronger by the day." Speaking at a ceremony honoring past Hezbollah commanders, Vahidi said that "Israel is weaker than it has ever been and its army is tired and humiliated… This is why it is trying to solve its problems by talking about taking action against Iran. But these are ridiculous statements. "Iran's warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map," he declared

UN watchdog: Iran rapidly increases controversial nuclear work
Haaretz/International Atomic Energy Agency says in report that Iran has tripled its capacity to enrich uranium to elevated levels.Iran has tripled its capacity to enrich uranium to elevated levels, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a report on Friday. Iran's enrichment of uranium up to 20 per cent has caused concern in the West because it is theoretically much easier to turn such material into bomb-grade material than uranium enriched at below five percent.Iran has doubled the number of centrifuges for enriching to 20 percent at its fortified underground site at Fordo, according to a copy of the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obtained by DPA. Iran has now made more than 100 kilograms of higher-enriched material, less than half the amount needed for a nuclear warhead, the document said. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon. Officials in Teheran this week gave the IAEA a document that aimed to answer allegations about nuclear projects, but the document contained nothing but dismissals of the agency's concerns, "largely on the grounds that Iran considered them to be based on unfounded allegations," the IAEA said

If there were no Iranian threat
By Doron Rosenblum/Haaretz
Israel may no longer be capable of identifying diplomatic options and nonmilitary measures even when they are being blasted into its ears by so many sirens.
Get Haaretz on iPhone Get Haaretz on Android None of the people who, correctly, fear an Israeli attack on Iran and the war that would follow have considered the fact that "the next war" is already here. It has been entrenched in our consciousness and that of our leaders so deeply and for so long that most of the tension concerns its timing, not its probability. What was it that Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was quoted as saying this week? "The operation is always ready, the orders are always there, and if necessary we can carry it out." He was referring to a war in southern Israel, admittedly, but it's the intention that counts, being mentally prepared for the fact that "the next war" will indeed come - whether by necessity or by choice; if not from the east, then from the south, and if not from the south then from the north. There are civilizations where the word "war" is uttered with fear and trembling, where it is seen as a total human catastrophe. But not in Israel, where "the next war" goes to sleep with us at night and drinks coffee with us in the morning. Its actualization is almost a mere technicality of how, when and how much.
We have experienced a few brief bursts of awareness during which "the next war" was absent for a few historic moments. There have been times when it was even replaced by a spark of hope for that illusory thing, so despised today, called "peace." But we recovered quickly from these stumbles, thanks to the combined efforts of both parties to the conflict. And when the day was won by the idea that the conflict cannot be solved, only managed, the "next war" resumed its natural role as a permanent fixture in our lives. With little sadness and even an occasional sigh of relief, the fact that we are a war that has a country sank in. Many good people are once again trusting to the next war - dangerous, insane but "worthwhile" because it will "eliminate the Iranian threat," after which the land will be undisturbed for 40 years. They must be reminded not only of the sad consequences of the previous wars of choice, aimed at "eliminating" putative existential threats, but also of what all Israelis are nearly born knowing: that an "existential threat" of one kind or another has always hung over our heads, whether genuine or existing only in our own, or our leaders', tortured, Holocaust-traumatized consciousness: Ahmed Shukairy of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the "Egyptian despot" Gamal Abdel Nasser; Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and anthrax; PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah; and now, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the apocalypse. Each of them, in turn, like Hitler; each of them, in every generation, rose up to destroy us. Each of them, in turn, was justification for war.
But before plunging "out of necessity" into the next war we should ask: What if there were no Tehran? And were the "Iranian threat" somehow eliminated, would another not spring up immediately to take its place, at least in our consciousness? Also: What did we do prior to the "Iranian threat" besides worrying about the future?
Preventive wars are sometimes necessary - as the Bible says, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first." But as the current Israeli government demonstrates, the very fact of being permanently psychologically prepared for the next war and of accepting the absence of any chance to make peace can themselves blind and atrophy all alternative thinking and all diplomatic skills. Like the native inhabitants of America who did not see the Spanish ships approaching because they had no word for "ship," Israel may no longer be capable of identifying diplomatic options and nonmilitary measures even when they are being blasted into its ears by so many sirens.

By restraining Israel, Obama is helping Iran get the bomb
By Avigdor Haselkorn/Haaretz
For Iran, this is the right time to push for the bomb without fear of an American military sanction. On the face of it, the United States and Iran are at loggerheads. The Obama administration has pledged to use all options at its disposal to stop Iran's race to the bomb. Likewise, Tehran appears to be totally invested in confronting Washington, while accelerating its march toward nuclear weapons. But in reality this picture is misleading, obscuring a "tango" that both the mullahs and the Obama administration are "dancing" in order to thwart Israel.
Recent information indicating the Netanyahu government was readying a preemptive attack on Iran's nuclear sites quickly yielded a full-bore effort by Washington to block the planned operation. Jerusalem's new activism was undoubtedly also a factor in the imposition of the so-called "biting" economic sanctions against Iran that Washington recently devised to buy it more time and to slow Israel down. Note that the Obama administration's strong push to impose the new penalties on Iran did not come as a response to Tehran's nuclear progress or even the damning IAEA report of November 2011, which exposed the military dimensions of the Iranian project. After all, key administration officials have publicly insisted Iran was "years away" from a "weaponized" nuclear capacity. Instead, Washington went into diplomatic high gear when some in Israel intimated that Mr. Netanyahu and others in his cabinet had had enough of international impotence, and, given Iran's nuclear progress, were seriously considering an attack.
Worse yet, the Israeli leaks about the pending military undertaking may well have led Iran to accelerate its program. Specifically, there are reports that the transfer of centrifuges to the "impenetrable" Fordo enrichment facility near Qom has been speeded up.
In a word, assuming it is seriously contemplating an attack, the Netanyahu government's handling of the plan has been utterly counterproductive. Instead of stopping Iran, it hastened the mullahs' nuclear program, while at the same time triggering extra international pressure to rein in Israel. In fact, it put Washington and Tehran in the same trench of acting to foil an Israeli military action.
To boot, the mullahs were astute enough to signal their sudden interest in resuming negotiations with the 5 +1 group (the Security Council's permanent members, plus Germany ) about the "outstanding" nuclear issues vexing the international community. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, wrote in a February 14 letter to Europe's foreign policy head, Catherine Ashton, that Iran seeks direct negotiations about its nuclear program at the "earliest possibility" - never mind that Ashton's offer to resume talks was delivered to Tehran last October. For her part, Hillary Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state, was quick to announce the Iranian gesture was "the one we have been waiting for."
In effect, Tehran is now aiding the Obama administration in devising a diplomatic leash for Israel, to restrain it from launching an attack. Both Tehran and Washington, it seems, are in agreement: The leadership threatening world peace resides in ... Jerusalem!
As if this was not enough, Iran has been rattling its sabers too. By threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz and cutting off the oil-shipping lanes there, and by suspending its oil exports to certain European countries, Tehran hopes to affect an appreciable and hike in the price of oil. The idea is first to generate larger oil revenues for Iran to compensate for the losses caused by the recent economic sanctions. Tehran is also signaling to the White House its capacity to inflict havoc on the world economy, and to derail the budding economic recovery in the United States. Such a scenario, which could unfold in the aftermath of an Israeli attack, would be unhealthy to Obama's reelection prospects.
In short, Tehran is manipulating world oil prices to further spur Obama's efforts to restrain Israel and strike some sort of a deal to ensure calm, and thus his political well-being. Using a comprehensive carrot-and-stick strategy, Iran seeks to goad Washington into advancing its sinister agenda. (In fact, the mullahs could be forgiven, if in light of Obama's efforts to withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, they had concluded he was preferable to a Republican occupying the White House. )
Israel and the Obama administration are on different timetables. This is not because of the debate over whether there is or isn't a "zone of invulnerability" that Iran would enter soon after it dispersed and hardened its nuclear sites, so as to make the actual timing of a decision to build the bomb extraneous. The real timetable is political. For Israel the period before the U.S. elections provides a window of opportunity for a military undertaking, as the political campaign in the United States would likely blunt the expected backlash from Washington. Mr. Obama will hesitate to punish Israel harshly and risk the Jewish and pro-Israel vote if he judges such a reaction would endanger his chances for a second term. However, the same elections clock also indicates Mr. Obama has no intention of taking military action against Iran, at least for the duration.
There is little doubt Tehran understands these realities as well. By its clock, this is the right time to push for the bomb without fear of an American military sanction. Further that, for Iran, now is the time to help Mr. Obama restrain Israel and in effect to enlist the American president to pave the way for Iran getting the bomb.
**Avigdor Haselkorn is the author of "The Continuing Storm: Iraq, Poisonous Weapons and Deterrence" (Yale University Press ).

'US to announce aerial blockade on Syria'
Roi Kais/Ynetnews
US readies for possibility of intervention without UN resolution, Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing US military official; plan to include humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees on Turkey's border . The Pentagon is readying for the possibility of intervention in Syria, aiming to halt Syrian President Bashsar Assad's violent crackdown on protesters, the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday, citing a US military offical.According to the official, the intervention scenario calls for the establishment of a buffer zone on the Turkish border, in order to receive Syrian refugees. The Red Cross would then provide the civilians humanitarian aid, before NATO crews would arrive from Turkey and join the efforts. The measure would pave the way for the US to declare an aerial blockade on Syria.
The intercession is to be modeled after NATO's efforts in Kosovo, which brought an end to the Serbian control of the region. NATO's plan of action included prolonged aerial shelling.
The US' diplomatic efforts have yet to yield an effective international resolution that would stop the bloodshed. More than 100 protesters have died over the weekend alone, human rights activists said.
Russia, China to join aid efforts?According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the Pentagon does not anticipate a change of heart on the part of China or Russia, who have opposed foreign intervention or sanctions against Syria. But the US expects the two nations to join the humanitarian aid efforts, support a ceasefire between the Syrian regime and rebels and send special UN envoys to investigate the developments in the country. The next step in the reported US Department of Defense plan would be to appoint a team of UN observers to monitor the humanitarian aid, and enter Syria. They would need aerial protection, which would eventually lead to an aerial blockade.The military official said in the interview that the plan is a cautious one, and takes into account the Syrian air force's advanced capabilities.
In his most forceful words to date on the Syrian crisis, US President Barack Obama said Friday the US and its allies would use "every tool available" to end the bloodshed by Assad's government.It is time to stop the killing of Syrian citizens by their own government," Obama said in Washington, adding that it "absolutely imperative for the international community to rally and send a clear message to President Assad that it is time for a transition. It is time for that regime to move on."
As government troops relentlessly shelled rebel-held neighborhoods in the besieged city of Homs, thousands of people in dozens of towns staged anti-regime protests under the slogan: "We will revolt for your sake, Baba Amr," referring to the Homs neighborhood that has become the center of the Syrian revolt. Opposition groups reported that 103 people were killed on Friday by the regime's forces.

Red Cross corridor to Homs - start of foreign intervention in Syria
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 25, 2012/Under the protection of the United States, Turkey, Britain, France, Italy, Qatar and the UAE, the first Red Cross convoys reached Homs Friday, Feb. 24. They began evacuating untreated injured victims and bringing medical aid to the city devastated and beleaguered by Bashar Assad’s troops. This ICRC corridor marked the first step toward foreign intervention in the Syrian crisis. debkafile’s military sources report exclusively that it came about after Washington and Ankara warned Assad through confidential channels that if his forces interfered with the emergency medical route for Homs, US and Turkish warplanes would take off from air bases in East Turkey and give the medical convoys air cover, thereby opening the door for a Western-Arab plan for resolving the Syrian crisis (which was first revealed exclusively in DEBKA-Net-Weekly 530 out Friday, Feb. 23.) Assad’s response to the warning is unknown. Early Saturday, US President Barack Obama delivered his harshest denunciation yet of the Assad regime. The International community must continue sending the message to Syria’s president to step down, and “use every tool available to prevent the slaughter of innocents. It is time for a transition and time for that regime to move on.”Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, addressing the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis Friday, said: “I am convinced Assad’s days are numbered, but I regret there will be more killing before he goes.”Neither spelled out the manner of the Syria ruler’s exit but it was clear from Clinton’s words that Washington did not expect him to go without a fight. Our intelligence sources report that expectation of international protection for Homs was signified Friday by the insistence of two injured Western correspondents, Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times and Edith Bouvier of La Figaro, that they would only leave the battered city if evacuated by the International Red Cross.They were injured in the same bombardment of the Baba Amr district of Homs which last week killed Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik in their clandestine press center. Conditions of the 20,000 to 30,000 people trapped in Bab Amr are worsening by the hour, the Red Cross spokesman in London reported, as sensitive negotiations take place between the ICRC and the Damascus government. They aim at gaining protection for the city of Homs and an aid corridor through which to evacuate the wounded to Turkey and bring in essential supplies, granting them the status of “safe havens” free of a Syrian military presence. In the initial stage of this plan, Western officials are talking about cooperation between the Syrian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross. Such cooperation if it took place might signify Assad’s willingness to go along with the international effort – or at least tolerate it without resistance. The creation of a safe haven in Homs, initially to provide the distressed populations with medical and humanitarian aid, would serve as a precedent for other parts of Syria and obviously diminish the regime’s control over the country. This is clearly more than Assad is willing to accept as of now. There was no sign of a ceasefire Saturday morning; no letup in Syrian military shelling of Homs or savage assaults in other parts of the country after some 200 deaths were reported in the last 48 hours.. A group of Arab medics waiting in Jordan with medical supplies was refused entry to Syria. They declared a hunger strike until the Syrian authorities let them in. The Tunis conference’s formal decisions as articulated by Clinton focused on diplomatic pressure and sanctions for bringing the Syrian ruler to heel. Arab diplomats, led by the Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, took exception to this line, demanding direct action and a major international effort to arm and reinforce the anti-Assad rebels who are hopelessly outgunned by Assad’s forces.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal backs arms for Syrian rebels
TUNIS, (AP) — The Saudi foreign minister says arming the rebels fighting the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad is "an excellent idea."Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal went further than any of the other Friends of Syria nations meeting in Tunis Friday to increase pressure on Assad to call for a cease-fire, step down and allow humanitarian aid to flow to hard-hit areas. Asked at the start of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton if he thought arming the Syrian opposition was a good idea, al-Faisal said: "I think it's an excellent idea." Asked why, he said, "Because they have to protect themselves."The group is demanding that Assad step down or face as-yet undefined punishments.

'Friends of Syria' vow support for opposition
TUNIS, (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted Russia and China as "despicable" for opposing U.N. action aimed at stopping the bloodshed in Syria, and more than 60 nations began planning a civilian peacekeeping mission to deploy after the Damascus regime halts its crackdown on the opposition.
In his most forceful words to date on the Syrian crisis, President Barack Obama said the U.S. and its allies would use "every tool available" to end the bloodshed by the government of President Bashar Assad.
"It is time to stop the killing of Syrian citizens by their own government," Obama said in Washington, adding that it "absolutely imperative for the international community to rally and send a clear message to President Assad that it is time for a transition. It is time for that regime to move on."
Obama spoke as a group known as the Friends of Syria, led by the U.S. and European and Arab nations, met in Tunisia in the latest effort to halt the Assad regime's nearly year-old suppression of an anti-government uprising.
The group's actions are aimed at jolting Assad and his allies into accepting demands for a democratic transition, even as they are still unwilling to commit to military intervention.
While the Tunisia conference offered nothing other than the threat of increasing isolation and sanctions to compel compliance from Assad, Clinton went on to predict a military coup inside Syria of the kind that ended the old regimes in Egypt and Tunisia.
"We saw this happen in other settings last year, I think it is going to happen in Syria," she told reporters at the end of the meeting. "We also know from many sources that there are people around Assad who are beginning to hedge their bets — they didn't sign up to slaughter people."
Assad allies Russia and China, which blocked U.N. action on Syria and are eager to head off any repeat of the kind of foreign intervention that happened in Libya, gave no sign they would agree to peacekeepers. Moscow and Beijing have vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions backing Arab League plans aimed at ending the conflict and condemning Assad's crackdown.
Their vetoes prompted a particularly strong reaction from Clinton.
"It's quite distressing to see two permanent members of the Security Council using their veto while people are being murdered — women, children, brave young men — houses are being destroyed," she said. "It is just despicable and I ask whose side are they on? They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people."
The conference, meeting for the first time as a unified bloc, called on Assad to end the violence immediately and allow humanitarian aid into areas hit by his regime's crackdown. The group pledged to boost relief shipments and set up supply depots along Syria's borders, but it was unclear how it would be distributed without government approval.
Syrian government troops kept up the shelling of rebel-held neighborhoods in the besieged central city of Homs, while thousands of people in dozens of towns staged anti-regime protests. Activists said at least 50 people were killed nationwide Friday.
A Red Cross spokesman said the group evacuated seven people from Baba Amr, a heavily shelled neighborhood in Homs, to a hospital elsewhere in the city.
The U.N. estimated in January that 5,400 people were killed in the conflict. Hundreds more have died since, with activists saying the death toll is more than 7,300.
Assad's regime blames the violence on terrorists and armed thugs — not people who want to reform the system.
The Friends of Syria group also vowed to step up ties with the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group. They took a tentative step toward recognition by declaring the council to be "a legitimate representative" of the Syrian people, a possible precursor to calling it "the legitimate representative."
Despite the show of unity, which diplomats said they hoped would impress upon Assad that the end of his family's four-decade autocratic rule is inevitable and at hand, there were signs of division. Some nations argued for arming Assad's foes, while others called for the creation of protected humanitarian corridors to deliver aid.
Neither idea was included in the conference's final document, which instead focused on steps nations should take to tighten the noose on the regime, including boycotting Syrian oil, imposing travel and financial sanctions on Assad's inner circle, and working with the opposition to prepare for a post-Assad Syria, including lucrative commercial deals. It also welcomed the appointment of former U.N. chief Kofi Annan to be a joint U.N.-Arab League special envoy for Syria.
On the sanctions front, France said the European Union would on Monday freeze assets of Syria's national bank held in EU jurisdictions while Clinton vowed that already tough U.S. penalties would be strengthened.
Highlighting the divisions, though, Saudi Arabia called publicly for weapons and ammunition to be sent to the opposition, including the Free Syrian Army, a Turkey-based outfit made up largely of Assad regime defectors.
"I think it's an excellent idea," Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told reporters before meeting Clinton on the margins of the conference. Asked why, he replied: "Because they have to defend themselves."
Clinton demurred on the question. But on Thursday in London, she said the opposition would eventually find arms from some suppliers if Assad keeps up the relentless assault.
The Obama administration initially opposed arming the opposition but has recently opened the door to the possibility by saying that while a political solution is preferable, other measures may be needed if the onslaught doesn't end.
The Syrian National Council, for its part, said it would be grateful for help in any area.
"We welcome any assistance you might offer, or means to protect our brothers and sisters who are struggling to end the rule of tyranny," council president Burhan Ghalioun told the conference. He laid out the council's goal of a free, democratic Syria free of the "rule of a Mafia family" in which the rights of all would be respected.
Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, who has been a driving force to unite Arab opinion against the Syrian regime, directly called on Assad to step down. And, together with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, he called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to get aid to embattled citizens.
Highlighting the deepening isolation of Damascus, the Hamas prime minister of Gaza voiced support for Syrian protesters seeking to overthrow Assad. It was the first time a senior Hamas figure has publicly backed the uprising and rebuked the Syrian regime.
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, the host of Friday's conference who only recently assumed power after his country became the first in the Arab Spring to topple its longtime leader last year, called for an Arab peacekeeping force to ensure stability during an eventual transition.
"We have to respond to the demand of the majority of the Syrian people to get rid of a corrupt, persecuting regime," he said. "We have to stop the bloodshed, but this cannot be through military intervention."
The Friends group recognized this call by giving a green light to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to start drawing up plans for such a joint Arab League-U.N. peacekeeping operation that would be comprised of civilian police officers. Ban is expected to begin recruiting possible contributors to the mission and preparing its mandate.
Such an operation would not be a military intervention but would still require authorization from the U.N. Security Council, where it will likely face opposition from veto-wielding members China and Russia, neither of which attended the Tunis conference, and Iran. Russia and Iran are Syria's two biggest military suppliers.
In New York on Friday, U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the secretary-general's office had no immediate response to a call for a peacekeeping mission.
As the conference began, about 200 pro-Assad demonstrators tried to storm the hotel. The protest forced Clinton to be diverted briefly to her hotel.
The protesters, waving Syrian and Tunisian flags, tussled with police and carried signs criticizing Clinton and President Barack Obama. They were driven out of the parking lot by police after about 15 minutes.

'Friends of Syria' Urge Sanctions, End to Violence as Tunisia Calls for Yemen-like Deal
by Naharnet /Arab and Western nations in Tunisia for the first "Friends of Syria" meeting called Friday for an immediate end to violence in the country and for new sanctions on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. In a final declaration, the group called for the regime to immediately end all violence to allow for humanitarian aid to be brought in. "The Friends' Group called on the Syrian government immediately to cease all violence and to allow free and unimpeded access by the U.N. and humanitarian agencies," it said. "It demanded that the Syrian regime immediately permit humanitarian agencies to deliver vital relief goods and services to civilians affected by the violence," it said. It also vowed to "press the Syrian regime to stop all acts of violence" by enforcing current sanctions and introducing new ones, including with travel bans, asset freezes, ceasing oil purchases, reducing diplomatic ties and preventing the shipment of arms.
"Participants committed to take steps to apply and enforce restrictions and sanctions on the regime and its supporters as a clear message to the Syrian regime that it cannot attack civilians with impunity," it said. It also recognized the main opposition umbrella group, the Syrian National Council (SNC), as "a legitimate representative of Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change" but fell short of giving it exclusive recognition. The declaration did not fully endorse some Arab calls for peacekeepers to be deployed to Syria, with the declaration saying only that it "noted the Arab League's request to the United Nations Security Council to issue a resolution to form a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping force."
Earlier on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the conference that Assad would pay a "heavy cost" for ignoring the will of the international community after almost a year of brutal crackdowns on protesters. Tunisia, the host of the international meeting, called for an Arab peacekeeping force to be sent in to help bring an end to the killings, and for Assad to be granted immunity to persuade him to stand down. The meeting comes two days before Syrians are called to vote on a new constitution that could end 50 years of the rule of the Baath Party though keeps wide powers with the president. "The current situation demands an Arab intervention in the framework of the League, an Arab force to keep peace and security, to accompany diplomatic efforts to convince Bashar to leave," Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said.
"A political solution must be found, such as granting the Syrian president, his family and members of his regime judicial immunity and a place to seek refuge, which Russia could offer."
The call for peacekeepers was backed by Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, who said such a force was needed to maintain security, open humanitarian corridors and implement Arab League decisions on the crisis.More than 7,600 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad's rule erupted last March, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.As she also announced $10 million in aid for humanitarian efforts, Clinton said the meeting should send a "clear message" to Assad: "You will pay a heavy cost for ignoring the will of the international community and violating the human rights of your people."
The main opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council has warned that military intervention might be the "only option" to end the crackdown, but Western and Arab nations have so far rejected the idea of a foreign mission similar to the operation that helped topple Moammar Gadhafi’s regime in Libya. Clinton on Thursday described the SNC as a "credible representative" and would demonstrate that "there is an alternative" to Assad's regime. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also Friday described the SNC as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition ... the pole around which the opposition must organize".
Juppe told journalists that the meeting would call for tougher sanctions in order to make Assad's regime "fold"."The conference will make a call for strengthening sanctions in a way to make the regime fold," Juppe said at the meeting in Tunisia, mentioning a freeze on assets of the Syrian central bank in particular.The European Union is set to slap fresh sanctions on Syria on Monday, including a ban on Syrian-run cargo flights into the bloc, a freeze on Syrian central bank assets and restrictions on trade in gold and precious metals.But the Tunis conference was marked by the absence of Russia and China highlighting the difficulty in building an international consensus on Syria. Both countries have frustrated efforts to rein in Assad's regime, including by vetoing U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Alexei Pushkov, the head of the international affairs committee of Russia's State Duma lower house, told reporters after a visit to Damascus that Assad was not ready to resign and that he claims to feel strong support. A Syria-based opposition group, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCCDC), also said it was boycotting the Tunis conference, complaining of exclusion and fearing escalated militarization. As the meeting opened in Tunis, police armed with batons beat back several dozen protesters trying to enter the venue chanting "No to the conference!" and "No meeting of the enemies of Arab nations".Meanwhile, Syrian state television broadcast live coverage of the conference in Tunis, dubbing it the "enemies of Syria" meeting.
"The conference in Tunis is a meeting of the enemies of the Syrian people," said the mouthpiece of the regime of embattled President Bashar al-Assad, as it broadcast footage of the opening of the gathering in Tunisia. The state broadcaster broadcast a written commentary over the conference speakers on its ticker banner, apparently to reflect the views of the Damascus regime.
When Tunisia’s Marzouki spoke, the commentary was that he demanded "support for the terrorists and described them as rebels."And when Qatar’s prime minister addressed the conference delegates, the comment on Syrian television was: "Hamad, a new phase of the conspiracy against Syria."Damascus accuses oil- and gas-rich Qatar of funding the opposition and rebels in the uprising against Assad's regime which erupted in March 2011.Television reporters also sought the views of people on the street about the Tunis meeting. "We don't want intervention," said one man as bystanders gathered round the camera.
The channel also aired footage of a demonstration in Tunis against the meeting, as a guest commentator slammed the meeting and Arab countries attending it.
The United Nations on Thursday named its former leader Kofi Annan as a joint U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, a move welcomed by Russia which called for an immediate ceasefire to evacuate wounded from Homs. "We hope that the work of this respected statesman will assist in solving the acute political and humanitarian problems in Syria," the Russian foreign ministry said.
Amnesty International demanded Friday that aid agencies be given immediate access to Homs and other protest cities. SourceNaharnet/Agence France Presse.

Saudi FM backs arms for Syrian rebels
Roi Kais /Ynetnews/Saudi foreign minister tells 'Friends of Syria' conference supplying Syrian fighters with weapons is 'an excellent idea.' EU announces sanctions on Damascus' Central Bank, while Clinton warns Assad of brutality's ramifications. Saudi Arabia believes supplying the Syrian rebels fighting the brutal regime of President Bashar Assad is "an excellent idea."Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal made the statement on Friday, at the Friends of Syria nations meeting in Tunis. The meeting was convened in order to devise ways to increase pressure on Assad to call for a cease-fire, step down and allow humanitarian aid to flow to hard-hit areas. Asked at the start of a meeting if he thought arming the Syrian opposition was a good idea, al-Faisal said: "I think it's an excellent idea." Asked why, he said, "Because they have to protect themselves." group is demanding that Assad step down or face as-yet undefined punishments. Saudi Arabia's support of the move did not stop its delegation from walking out of the meeting over what it called the forum's "inactivity." An aide to the Saudi foreign minister said that "We left to attend bilateral meetings" on the sidelines of the 'Friends of Syria' conference."
Also on Friday, Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby called on the UN Security Council to issue an urgent resolution calling for a ceasefire in Syria.
"This conference should make practical moves and prioritize the issuance of an urgent Security Council resolution for a ceasefire," he told the opening session of the "Friends of Syria" meeting.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who attended the meeting, said that the Syrian regime will have "more blood on its hands" if it does not immediately comply with cease-fire demands being issued by a group of 70 Western and Arab nations. Clinton said that Assad's regime has "ignored every warning, squandered every opportunity and broken every agreement."
Meanwhile, the European Union said that it will freeze the Syria's central bank assets by the end of February as part of a package of tighter sanctions aimed at stopping a crackdown on the opposition.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that "Starting from Monday, we will take new strong measures, notably a freezing of the assets of the Syrian central bank."
AP, AFP and Reuters contributed to this report

Hamas PM: Syrian rebels are heroes
Elior Levy /Ynetnews/In first official endorsement of anti-Assad rebels, Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas 'salutes Syrian people's fight for freedom, democracy and reform' Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh commented for the first time Friday on the ongoing bloodshed in Syria. Haniyeh hailed the "heroic Syrian struggle for democracy" during a rally at Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque. I salute all the people of the Arab Spring, or rather the Islamic Winter," Haniyeh told several thousand cheering people who attended a rally in support of the Palestinians and Syrians. "I salute the heroic Syrian people, who are striving for freedom, democracy and reform," he added. "No Iran, no Hezbollah. Syria is Islamic," the protesters chanted in response. This was the first public endorsement of the uprising in Syria by a Hamas leader, as Hamas' political leadership has so far refused to speak against President Bashar Assad's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Relations between Hamas leadership and the Syrian president hit an all all-time low after Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal voiced his aversion of Assad's actions. Haniyeh also urged the "salvation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque," saying that "Jerusalem will remain ours. We've paid with blood to keep Jerusalem Arab and Muslim." He praised those "going against the occupation and the herds of settlers and standing firm at the gates of Al-Aqsa to save Jerusalem and the mosque."
He reiterated that Hamas will never recognize Israel.

Nadim Gemayel: Syria govt uses minorities as human shield
February 25, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel said Friday night in Sweden that the government in Syria manipulates the country's minorities for its own ends, adding that Christians should not worry about their continued presence in the country.
“Some say that the regime in Syria preserves [the presence of] Christians. Then why have so many Christian Syrians fled, to be found today throughout the world? Because the Assad regime takes advantage of minorities and uses them as a human shield to protect itself,” Gemayel told a gathering in Sweden during his official visit to the country.
Gemayel, who arrived Friday in Stockholm, met with Sweden's Minister for Trade Eva Bjorling and other officials including Swedish MP Roger Haddad, who is of Lebanese origin.
During a gathering organized by the Kataeb branch in Sweden and attended by representatives of the Future Movement and Lebanese Forces, Gemayel defended his party and the March 14 coalition’s support of the 11-month-old uprising in Syria.“We do not interfere in Syrian affairs but we feel for the oppressed since we have had similar experiences at the hands of [former Syrian President Hafez] Assad, what with assassinations, destruction and attempts to eradicate us."He also said that the decision to support the uprising in Syria against President Bashar Assad stemmed from placing principles before politics.During his visit to the cities of Gothenburg and Trollhattan, accompanied by Lebanese expatriates in the country and members of the Swedish office of the Kataeb, Gemayel urged Christians not to seek protection from anyone.“We should no longer be afraid and must remove the minority complex from our dictionary. We will not accept protection from anyone: not from the U.S., Iran, Saudi Arabia or anyone else. We draw our strength from a strong, just state that affords equal protection to all,” he said.
Addressing expatriates, he added that Christians are secure in their principles and their history in the Middle East, and urged them to work together to build a Lebanon they can come back to.

Ban proposes three candidates for replacement of Bellemare
February 25, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has sent a letter to the Lebanese government proposing three people as possible replacements for Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s General Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, An-Nahar reported Saturday.Quoting a Western diplomat, the daily said three people were suggested. Bellemare's term ends on February 29, at which point someone else will take the helm of the STL's prosecution. The diplomat declined to specify the names or nationalities of the three proposed successors.
The Beirut-based newspaper reminded readers that Ban’s letter follows the secretary general’s decision earlier this week to extend the mandate of the tribunal for three years. The STL general prosecutor will be selected by Ban following consultations with the Lebanese government.
Bellemare, who indicted four Hezbollah members in June of last year for involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, announced last December that he would not seek to be reappointed as prosecutor for the U.N.-backed court’s second mandate, which is expected to begin in March.
As the STL’s first prosecutor, he has led the investigation into the killing of Hariri since 2009. The STL was established in 2007.
The four indicted men remain at large and Bellemare’s successor will take up the case against them when court proceedings begin in absentia later this year.
Hezbollah has denied the STL's allegations, saying that the four accused men, Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Oneissy and Asad Sabra, are honorable members of the resistance party and that they would never be surrendered to the court. Hezbollah, along with its allies in the March 8 alliance, considers the court a U.S.-Israeli project aimed at targeting the resistance and sowing strife in the country.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain Rafik Hariri, has called on Hezbollah to hand over the men and cooperate with the international tribunal.

Nasrallah: Lebanon Chose to Distance Itself from Regional Events to Preserve the Govt.
by Naharnet /Nasrallah defended on Friday Lebanon’s decision to distance itself from regional developments. He said: “Lebanon is part of the region, but its decision is aimed at preserving the government.”
He made his statements during a ceremony marking Martyrs Leaders Day and the assassination of former party leader Abbas Moussawi. “The region is passing through a critical phase as it is being restructured and Lebanon is not an island onto itself,” he remarked. “We are part of the region and the country’s security is linked to regional security,” he stated.
“Lebanon used to be a country that used to be affected by regional events … but now they can no longer ignore Lebanon’s effective role due to the resistance and the role of the army, people, and resistance,” Nasrallah said. “Israel is the greatest threat and we should remain diligent to its plans in Lebanon and the region,” he noted. Given the current regional situation, he added that Lebanon’s political and security stability should be set as a priority. “Whoever wants to create strife in Iraq, Syria, and Libya wants to spread the unrest to Lebanon,” he declared. “Those seeking to voice their opinions on the developments on Syria can do so without resorting to sectarian rhetoric,” he added. He therefore stressed the importance of confronting strife in each country it erupts in and preventing it from being spread to others. The Hizbullah chief noted that Lebanon has so far succeeded in thwarting such unrest from affecting it.
On this note, he emphasized the need to preserve the current government, adding however that this need should not be an excuse for the lack of productivity. “Claims that it is unproductive are baseless because a government that is preserving the country’s security and economy cannot be ineffective. Some sides are seeking to obstruct its functioning,” explained Nasrallah. He therefore renewed a call for the government to resume its sessions. Moreover, he slammed March 14 claims that the cabinet “belongs to Hizbullah,” deeming such allegations as “baseless.”
“They sought to promote such claims in order to incite the Americans and Israelis against it and drive the West to boycott it,” he remarked. “We are the government’s most humble members and we have delayed tackling a few issues in order to preserve it, however the government must assume its responsibilities,” he said. Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks that Lebanon does not exist on the map, Nasrallah noted: “Such statements reflect the Israeli ideology that relies on threats and the destruction of others.”

Lebanon Files Complaint with U.N. Over Israeli Razor Wire Near Blue Line
by Naharnet /Lebanon filed a complaint with the U.N. against Israel for erecting a barbed wire near the U.N.-drawn Blue Line in the town of Adaisseh, the foreign ministry announced on Friday.
The ministry said in a statement that the incident took place on Feb. 8 when Israeli forces “erected a 40-meter concertina wire near the Blue Line in the town of Adaisseh to block the road leading to the Blue Line and that crosses into a minefield.”The complaint, which was submitted to the world body through the Lebanese mission in New York, described the Israeli move as “an infringement on Lebanese territories as well as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, Security Council Resolution 1701, international law and the Charter of the U.N.”It also said that the erection of the barbed wire “threatens international peace and security.”Lebanon asked U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to take the necessary measures to end the Israeli violation, the statement added. The Blue Line is the U.N.-drawn border between the two countries established in 2000. Both Lebanon and Israel have challenged its accuracy in several locations.

Al-Mustaqbal Says Aoun Lost on 3 Fronts, Blames him for Adjournment of Legislative Session
by Naharnet/The al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc stressed on Friday that Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun lost on three fronts when the March 14 lawmakers withdrew from a parliamentary session the day before. Al-Mustaqbal sources told An Nahar that Aoun lost Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, failed to win support for a $5.9 billion cabinet spending bill, and witnessed the removal of the Value Added Tax on red and green diesel, a move rejected by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil. Nahhas, who is loyal to Aoun, resigned after he refused to sign a controversial transportation allowance decree for being “illegal.” Media reports said that the MP had struck a deal to submit Nahhas’ resignation to Premier Najib Miqati in return for garnering a majority support inside parliament for a draft law proposed by a member of his bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan to legalize the allowance.
However, the draft law wasn’t discussed at parliament after the March 14 MPs withdrew from the session to protest a March 8 demand to clinch a legislative vote on the spending bill, saying they would not support it if the parliament fails to legalize $11 billion in extra-budgetary spending made from 2006 to 2009 by the governments of former PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri. Also Thursday, parliament lifted the Value Added Tax on red and greed diesel, a move rejected by Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law.
The sources wondered what the stance of Aoun was on Speaker Nabih Berri’s proposal to form a parliamentary committee to study the spending made by previous governments and coming up with a solution ahead of a parliamentary session on March 5. According to al-Liwaa daily, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat is mediating between Berri and Saniora, who is currently the head of al-Mustaqbal bloc, to resolve the controversy on the spending and come up with a comprehensive settlement to the issue.
Sources close to Saniora also told An Nahar that negotiations were carried out between the March 8 and 14 forces for three days before the parliamentary session to settle the $5.9 billion and $11 billion spending. But when Berri proposed to Aoun a draft-law suggested by Saniora, the Change and Reform bloc leader rejected it, they said, blaming Aoun for the withdrawal of the March 14 MPs from the session and its adjournment to March 5. Saniora backed a proposal by Berri to form the parliamentary committee that would seek to find a solution before the next legislative session, the sources added.

The ridicules Charade of unjustly sentencing Lebanese Citizens on charges of being Israeli spies goes on
February 24, 2012/BEIRUT: Three Lebanese were sentenced to death by a military court on Friday for spying for Israel, a judicial source said.
The tribunal "condemned to death Mussa Ali Mussa, who was found guilty of having contacted the Israeli enemy and passing on information," the source said.
The court found that Mussa had passed on to the Jewish state between 2000 and 2010 "information on officials from Hezbollah," the powerful Lebanese Shiite group.
The court also condemned to death in absentia Ali Sweid and Ahmed Hussein Abdullah on charges of spying for Israel.
Lebanese authorities in 2009 launched a national crackdown on alleged Israeli espionage rings. Lebanon and Israel remain technically in a state of war and convicted spies can face the death penalty.
More than 100 people have been arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel's Mossad spy agency, including an army general, members of the security forces and telecoms employees.
Several people have so far been sentenced to death, including one found guilty of helping Israel during its devastating 2006 war with arch-enemy Hezbollah. However, none of the death sentences has yet been carried out.

Retired Judge Salim Jreissati appointed new labor minister
February 24, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Retired Judge Salim Jreissati was appointed Friday as the new labor minister, replacing his predecessor Charbel Nahhas, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that Cabinet sessions would resume Monday. Both President Michel Sleiman and Mikati signed the decree appointing Jreissati, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s candidate for the post, during a meeting at Baabda Palace in the morning. In an interview with NBN TV, Jreissati said he respected Nahhas’ approach to doing things but that stability was crucial at the current stage.
“I will carry out changes in the ministry and will look at things with less severity than Nahhas, who [nevertheless] judged things based on constitutional standards and in a correct manner,” Jreissati told the local channel. He also said that the Cabinet was now required to work harder and more harmoniously.
“I am not necessarily happy with the circumstances that have led to me becoming labor minister,” he added. Jreissati, who hails from Zahleh, east Lebanon, is a legal expert and has held several leading advisory positions, including as a current advisor to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) team defending the four Hezbollah members implicated in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He also recently served as an advisor in the drafting of the new Syrian constitution, which will be put to a referendum on Feb. 28.In August 2011, just weeks after the STL issued its indictment against the four suspects, Jreissati took part in a conference organized by Hezbollah in which he delivered a presentation entitled “The Published Indictment: A Legal Study.” In the speech, Jreissati attacked the legitimacy of the court and pointed to what he described as “various gaps” in the indictment.
Meanwhile, Mikati said the government would resume its work next Monday but that its agenda would not include the thorny issue of administrative appointments.
As-Safir quoted the prime minister as saying the Cabinet session would be held at 9.30 a.m. Monday at Baabda Palace under the auspices of Sleiman.
Mikati said the session’s agenda would focus on issues that had accumulated over time, so that the Cabinet could facilitate the work of institutions and alleviate citizen's problems.
He also said that he would call for a further Cabinet session sometime next week.
Mikati suspended Cabinet sessions on Feb. 1 following a dispute with Change and Reform bloc ministers on administrative appointments as well as a dispute with Nahhas, of MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, who refused to sign a decree allowing the government to set transportation allowance fees.
Nahhas resigned this week as a result of the dispute. Asked whether the thorny subject of administrative appointments would be on the Cabinet’s agenda Monday, Mikati said: “We are going through a friendly phase right now and I don’t want to start this new stage with recalcitrance.”
“There has been an opening with regards to the administrative appointments issue,” he added. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told The Daily Star Thursday he expected the Cabinet would meet soon, after more than three weeks of impasse. “The Cabinet will reconvene very soon ... a new minister will be appointed most likely before the Cabinet convenes or shortly after,” he said.
Asked about his assessment of Thursday’s Parliament session, Mikati voiced satisfaction, saying the adjournment was beneficial as it would provide time for parties to reach an understanding on a number of issues. Thursday’s Parliament session, which lasted over two hours, was adjourned by Berri after deep divisions surfaced between March 8 and March 14 over an urgent draft law forwarded by the Cabinet to Parliament to retroactively legalize the extra-budgetary spending of LL8.9 trillion ($5.93 billion) last year. The government is required to adhere to the last approved budget, which was passed in 2005.
“I am against confrontation and the priorities during this stage should be safeguarding stability in light of the chaos affecting the region,” Mikati told the local daily.
Berri told The Daily Star Thursday he was working to “mend fences” between different factions in Parliament by forming parliamentary committees to resolve controversial legislative issues.
Berri also said he was also preparing a political move to bridge the gap between rival March 8 and March 14 groups, adding that this was necessary to protect Lebanon from regional turmoil.BEIRUT: Retired Judge Salim Jreissati was appointed Friday as the new labor minister, replacing his predecessor Charbel Nahhas, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that Cabinet sessions would resume Monday. Both President Michel Sleiman and Mikati signed the decree appointing Jreissati, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s candidate for the post, during a meeting at Baabda Palace in the morning. In an interview with NBN TV, Jreissati said he respected Nahhas’ approach to doing things but that stability was crucial at the current stage. “I will carry out changes in the ministry and will look at things with less severity than Nahhas, who [nevertheless] judged things based on constitutional standards and in a correct manner,” Jreissati told the local channel.
He also said that the Cabinet was now required to work harder and more harmoniously.
“I am not necessarily happy with the circumstances that have led to me becoming labor minister,” he added.
Jreissati, who hails from Zahleh, east Lebanon, is a legal expert and has held several leading advisory positions, including as a current advisor to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) team defending the four Hezbollah members implicated in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He also recently served as an advisor in the drafting of the new Syrian constitution, which will be put to a referendum on Feb. 28. In August 2011, just weeks after the STL issued its indictment against the four suspects, Jreissati took part in a conference organized by Hezbollah in which he delivered a presentation entitled “The Published Indictment: A Legal Study.” In the speech, Jreissati attacked the legitimacy of the court and pointed to what he described as “various gaps” in the indictment.
Meanwhile, Mikati said the government would resume its work next Monday but that its agenda would not include the thorny issue of administrative appointments.
As-Safir quoted the prime minister as saying the Cabinet session would be held at 9.30 a.m. Monday at Baabda Palace under the auspices of Sleiman. Mikati said the session’s agenda would focus on issues that had accumulated over time, so that the Cabinet could facilitate the work of institutions and alleviate citizen's problems. He also said that he would call for a further Cabinet session sometime next week.
Mikati suspended Cabinet sessions on Feb. 1 following a dispute with Change and Reform bloc ministers on administrative appointments as well as a dispute with Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, of MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, who refused to sign a decree allowing the government to set transportation allowance fees. Nahhas resigned this week as a result of the dispute. Asked whether the thorny subject of administrative appointments would be on the Cabinet’s agenda Monday, Mikati said: “We are going through a friendly phase right now and I don’t want to start this new stage with recalcitrance.” “There has been an opening with regards to the administrative appointments issue,” he added. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told The Daily Star Thursday he expected the Cabinet would meet soon, after more than three weeks of impasse.
“The Cabinet will reconvene very soon ... a new minister will be appointed most likely before the Cabinet convenes or shortly after,” he said. Asked about his assessment of Thursday’s Parliament session, Mikati voiced satisfaction, saying the adjournment was beneficial as it would provide time for parties to reach an understanding on a number of issues. Thursday’s Parliament session, which lasted over two hours, was adjourned by Berri after deep divisions surfaced between March 8 and March 14 over an urgent draft law forwarded by the Cabinet to Parliament to retroactively legalize the extra-budgetary spending of LL8.9 trillion ($5.93 billion) last year. The government is required to adhere to the last approved budget, which was passed in 2005. “I am against confrontation and the priorities during this stage should be safeguarding stability in light of the chaos affecting the region,” Mikati told the local daily. Berri told The Daily Star Thursday he was working to “mend fences” between different factions in Parliament by forming parliamentary committees to resolve controversial legislative issues. Berri also said he was also preparing a political move to bridge the gap between rival March 8 and March 14 groups, adding that this was necessary to protect Lebanon from regional turmoil.


Syria: Were the journalists deliberately targeted?
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Alawsat
I first met Marie Colvin in London in the nineties; she was one of the most knowledge people on Middle Eastern affairs working at the Sunday Times. She was also one of the few American journalists who worked and succeeded in the British print media. She was known for her bravery, to the point that she refused to give up her career in the media after losing an eye whilst covering a previous conflict. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised to hear that she had snuck into Syria, which can today be considered the most dangerous battlefield in the world. You might ask: why haven’t we seen Arab journalists taking such risks for the sake of reporting and documenting what is happening in Syria? In reality, I know many Arab reporters – including colleagues – who sought to sneak into the country, however my advice on such situations is always the same, namely: don’t take risks when the threat is practically guaranteed! Before French reporter Gilles Jacquier was killed in Syria two months ago, we were aware that Arab journalists were being targeted, particularly as the [Syrian] regime thinks nothing about killing an Arab journalist. This is because [at this time] none of the Arab governments would condemn or seek punishment for their citizen’s death. As for western journalists, targeting them is expensive, as this would have triggered a campaign by the Western media against the Syrian regime.
At this point, I must say that the Syrian revolutionaries are carrying out excellent media work, no less effective than the work of the professional media. They report information accurately, sending live images and documentation of what is happening on the ground, as well as recording the full names of victims, answering all the how, why, and what questions. There can also be no doubt that western reporters, for their part, have granted the Syrian revolution’s media reporters a greater sense of credibility, by working with them on the ground, and confirming – thanks to their own reports and footage – that what the revolutionaries are reporting is indeed accurate. This is despite the difficulties the media faces in revealing everything that is happening in Syria because of the magnitude of the war that is being waged by the Syrian regime forces.
I believe that the shelling of the media center in the Baba Amro neighbourhood of Homs was a deliberate act on the part of the Syrian government forces, with the objective of killing foreign journalists. The regime’s aggressive attitude towards western journalists – two killed and four others injured in this attack – reflects an escalation in the level of the confrontation; indeed this conflict is now at its highest level. In the past, the regime avoided harming western journalists, with the exception of one French reporter being killed as part of an open confrontation with the French government.
As for why the regime has now dared to kill westerners in such a violent way? The logical explanation is that this is an indication that the regime intends to commit even greater massacres and expand its military operations for the sake of turning off the lights and ending the unbiased reporting that is coming out from these targeted areas. In other words, we are entering an even more dangerous phase at a time when - unfortunately - the world is standing idly by.
The Syrian regime, which has relaxed following Russia and China’s double veto at the UN Security Council, is feeling increasingly secure against any possible international intervention. Damascus believes that the world is not interested in rescuing people who are being oppressed and massacred, particularly after the last such war in Libya. This is what the Syrian regime believes, and perhaps it is right, however the killing of western journalists is something that will provoke everybody in the media, particularly in the West where certain elements of the media believes that the Syrian revolution is an extremist movement that will bring Al Qaeda or the Salafists to power. However with this massacring of journalists, the Syrian regime has lost any hopes for support, even from those who are sceptical or hesitant. Any regime that has targeted neutral professionals, such as journalists, medics, and charity volunteers, is drawing its last breaths, not because it has intentionally killed such figures, but because the killing of such cadres reveals the weakness and inability of the regime and represents proof of its impending demise.

An unusual telephone call!
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
The telephone call that took place between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Russian president on Syria on Wednesday was not just an unusual telephone call, it was a historic one. The content of the telephone call paid by Russian president [Dmitry Medvedev] to the Saudi monarch served to draw a clear line between those that want to protect the killers of the Syrian people, and those who want to protect the Syrian people themselves. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, commenting on the viewpoint of the Russian president regarding the situation in Syria, said that “Saudi Arabia can never give up its religious and moral commitment to what is currently taking place in Syria”. This clearly means that the Saudi monarch is telling the Russian president that his standards are not the same as Russia’s. The standards of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Saudi Arabia is based upon religion and morals and respecting international organizations that should take action to protect the oppressed and deter the oppressors, not vice versa. Therefore, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was very clear when he told Medvedev that “it would have been better if our Russian friends had carried out Arab – Russian coordination before utilizing their veto at the UN Security Council…as any dialogue now about what is happening in Syria is futile.” It is clear that Russia’s intentions with regards to calling for dialogue now is to circumvent the “Friends of Syria” meeting that is taking place today in Tunis, otherwise why did Moscow not take action at this level before? Indeed, why did the Russians not take action on the same day that Medvedev called the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and publicly call on the tyrant of Damascus to stop the killing and lift the siege of Homs, rather than asking for dialogue with the Saudis today? The answer is clear, Russia merely wants to disrupt the “Friends of Syria” meeting.
Therefore what King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz told Medvedev represents a historic position – albeit an unsurprising one – from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who previously took similar historic positions with several US presidents with regards to his support for the Palestinians. It was King Abdullah who invited George W. Bush to watch some videos about Palestine, telling him that since you don’t watch television, here are some videos which will allow you to see what is happening in Palestine! King Abdullah also sent a message to Bush, threatening to cut Saudi – US ties, if Washington failed to take action to protect the Palestinians. The Saudi monarch also told former US president Clinton that “friendship has limits, Mr. President” when Clinton wanted him to adopt a positive attitude towards the Israeli leadership. King Abdullah also stopped the protection of Syria following the assassination of [former Lebanese prime minister] Rafik Hariri, despite the huge implications of this.
He is also the one who, during the Arab Summit in Riyadh, first described the US army in Iraq as an army of occupation. In contrast to this, Russia on Wednesday agreed a two-hour ceasefire in Syria to grant humanitarian assistance to the unarmed Syrian people, in other words Russia is telling al-Assad: kill your people for 22 hours a day, but stop for 2 hours!
This shows the clear difference in the standards of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque, and the standards of those who are leading the defense of the killers of children in Syria…therefore, this was undoubtedly a historic and unusual telephone call.

Question: "Christian fasting - what does the Bible say?"
Answer: Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, the Bible presents fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial. The book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions (Acts 13:2; 14:23). Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37; 5:33). Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God. Although fasting in Scripture is almost always a fasting from food, there are other ways to fast. Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food. Extended periods of time without eating can be harmful to the body. Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God. Fasting should not be considered a “dieting method” either. The purpose of a biblical fast is not to lose weight, but rather to gain deeper fellowship with God. Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food (diabetics, for example). Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God.
By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. Matthew 6:16-18 declares, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Will Walid lead?
Michael Young/Now Lebanon
February 24, 2012
Walid Jumblatt attends a rally in downtown Beirut in support of the Syrian uprising (NOW Lebanon)
One evening, in January 2006, while I was interviewing Walid Jumblatt in Mukhtara, his telephone rang. He spoke for around five minutes, while an extra 10 were set aside for a succession of increasingly florid goodbyes. Closing the phone, Jumblatt apologized. “Those were Druze from the Golan calling me,” he explained.
At the time, Jumblatt was a virtual prisoner of his residences, as his conflict with the Syrian regime was in full swing. And yet, I thought, this had not prevented Syria’s Druze—under Israeli occupation, perhaps, but keen to stress their loyalty to Damascus all the more for it—from calling an arch-enemy of Bashar al-Assad to inquire about his health. The incident was not much to go on, but it did indicate to me that the Lebanese Druze leader perhaps had more influence among his Syrian coreligionists than most non-Druze knew.
In recent months, Jumblatt has intensified his condemnations of the Assad regime, and its brutality. This week, in an editorial in his party’s weekly Al-Anbaa newspaper, Jumblatt urged the Druze in Syria to take the side of the revolution. “Beware you Arab strugglers in the Druze mountain against yielding to the Shabbiha in confronting your brothers in Syria and becoming like Israel’s border guards.” This was a reference to those Israeli Druze often stationed at Israel’s border crossings, and who are notorious for their harshness.
This week Jumblatt called for, and participated in, a vigil at Samir Kassir square in downtown Beirut in support of the Syrian uprising. Alongside him were several of his Druze parliamentarians. Jumblatt’s stance has contrasted starkly with those of two other Lebanese Druze leaders, Talal Arslan and the rather less elevated Wiam Wahhab, who have continued to endorse Assad rule.
Jumblatt’s maneuvering is revealing. Undoubtedly, there is an element of political and sectarian calculation in his actions. If the Syrian regime collapses, the Lebanese Druze leader would appreciate gaining a greater say in the affairs of the Syrian community. There are an estimated 200,000 Druze living in Lebanon. Jumblatt’s ability to extend his sway over a sizable portion of the 300,000 Druze in Syria would not only contribute to his own political survival and that of his son as traditional leaders, it would also provide Lebanon’s vulnerable Druze with significant demographic and geographical depth.
There are protective reasons as well for Jumblatt’s power plays. If Syria’s Druze were to fall on the wrong side of a post-Assad order, they might suffer dire consequences. In the worst case this could produce an exodus, as it has among minorities in Iraq. A natural destination for Syria’s Druze would be Lebanon. Their arrival in large numbers would represent a heavy economic burden for Lebanon’s community, in an underdeveloped mountain. It might also exacerbate relations between Lebanese and Syrian Druze, and between the Druze and other communities. It would fall on Jumblatt to care for the refugees, a responsibility he would really prefer not to take on.
That is perhaps a reason why Jumblatt has opposed the Assads so vociferously, when he might have been safer remaining on the fence for a bit longer. Evidently, he believes that being ahead of the curve will buy Syria’s Druze—many of whom have participated in the regime’s repression—a measure of protection. Jumblatt has been joined by Muntaha al-Atrash, the daughter of renowned Druze leader Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, who fought against France from 1925 to 1927.
An irony is that even as Jumblatt has praised the emancipatory impulses of those rebelling in Syria and elsewhere, he has been focused on maintaining his authority over his own community. The Druze leader has been enthusiastic about the Arab revolts, but not enough to see them repeated against Jumblatti domination.
And here we should read a third explanation into Walid Jumblatt’s exertions. As the Druze leader sees things, it’s better for him to ride the desire for radical change in the Arab world to his advantage, rather than cede ground to those who will use the fall of Arab despots as a basis to demand an end to paternalistic communal leaderships. To be fair to Jumblatt, he has done better for the Druze than the Assads, ben Alis and Qaddafis have for their societies, but he also knows that the fragrance of transformation can be heady.
Jumblatt also knows that the rancorous Assads have nothing to lose by getting rid of him. He goes out less than he used to, gambling that they are so busy eliminating their own citizens as to have little time to eliminate adversaries abroad. Jumblatt is playing a risky game, one with the potential to pay great dividends, or bring ruination.
*Michael Young is opinion editor of The Daily Star in Lebanon. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

A Woman catches al-Assad in a trap
By Tariq Alhomayed
Asharq Al-Awsat
Before the US Secretary of State spoke about the Syrian opposition in a positive manner late Thursday, to the extent that it appeared that the US would officially recognize them, CNN – over a period of three hours – broadcast a video plea issued by a French journalist trapped in Homs. One might ask: what has one thing got to do with the other?
The relation between the two is clear, for the story of the French journalist added a human dimension for the West with regards to what is happening in Syria. The West was shocked at the news of the deaths of its citizens, unlike some Arab states that fail to pay attention even to the deaths of seven thousand Syrians. In the video plea made by French journalist Edith Bouvier; she appears resting on a bed as she relates how she was injured in the shelling of Homs, saying “I have a broken leg…I need to undergo surgery as soon as possible.” She adds “the doctors here have treated us as well as they could but they can’t perform surgery. So I would like a ceasefire to be put in place as soon as possible and an ambulance or car in good enough shape that can drive us to Lebanon.” The French journalist was not the only one to issue such a plea; there was also a video plea by a photographer [Paul Conroy] working for the British Sunday Times newspaper, which means that this story is present in the British press as well.
CNN returned to this story at the top of every news round-up over a three-hour period, and of course the American news network was right to do so, for those who work in television recognize that this is a dramatic human interest story. The victim is a woman and a journalist who was searching for the truth, whilst her appearance in this video is affecting, particularly for the West. Since this journalist is French, this story will undoubtedly concern European and American viewers. It is sufficient here to recall that French president Sarkozy, who just two days prior to the deaths of the American and French journalists [in Homs] was asking questions about the nature of the Syrian opposition, came out on Thursday to say that the deaths of these journalists as a result of the shelling of the city of Homs represented an “assassination”, in a clear accusation leveled at the regime of the tyrant of Damascus.
Therefore, those observing the situation cannot be surprised that Secretary of State Clinton, on the same day, said “the consensus opinion by the Arab League and all the others who are working and planning this [Friends of Syria] conference is that the Syrian National Council [SNC] is a credible representative and therefore they will be present.” She added “we are seeing increasing defections; we are seeing a lot of pressure on the inner regime. There is growing evidence that some of the officials in the Syrian government are beginning to hedge their bets, moving assets, moving family members, looking for a possible exit strategy.” It is true that there was Arab pressure for the US to take a decisive position supporting the Syrian opposition in a serious manner, but the deaths of the two journalists, and the appearance of the French journalist in this video plea, has created a new reality that is now affecting western decision-makers. The story of the French journalist who has appealed to be rescued from Homs has been particularly influential, and this plea will have consequences for the future, for it has caught al-Assad in a trap that he will not be able to extricate himself from, and it may accelerate the west’s actions against him and the crimes he has committed against the Syrian people.