Bible Quotation for today/Warning against Boasting
James 04/13-17: "Now listen to me, you that say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to a certain city, where we will stay a year and go into business and make a lot of money.”  You don't even know what your life tomorrow will be! You are like a puff of smoke, which appears for a moment and then disappears.  What you should say is this: “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”  But now you are proud, and you boast; all such boasting is wrong.  So then, if we do not do the good we know we should do, we are guilty of sin."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Egypt’s Christians Must Stay/By: Osman Mirghani/Asharq Alawsat/April 15/13

Syria: Empty Statements Abound/By: Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat/April 15/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 15/13

Syrian shelling kills two in Lebanon
Salam Looks Forward to Everyone's Cooperation to Form National Interest Cabinet
President Michel Suleiman Slams Israeli Overflights, Calls for International Action
Lebanon's president voices importance of national interest
Siniora: Salam shares the same Liberal principles as us
Hezbollah calls for political Cabinet, electoral agreement
Hizbullah Calls for Understanding on Cabinet, Vote Law to Avoid Crisis
Muslim figures slam Islamic Council elections
Sources: March 8 to Meet with Salam again over Failure to Agree on Type of New Cabinet
Amal seeks consensus regarding govt formation, MP says
Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani announces HIC election winners
FPM official to NOW: Salam initially wanted a de facto govt
PSP will appeal elections deadline suspension law, minister says
National Struggle Front Seeking to Challenge Suspension of Vote Law Deadlines
Future MP: 1960 law will be valid if new law isn’t agreed to
Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel suspends submissions deadline for election nominations
Next cabinet to be comprised of 24 ministers, Future MP says
Syria troops break siege of key army camps
Syria reporters wounded in Aleppo car bomb
Syria rebels slam Al-Nusra over Al-Qaeda pledge
Activists: Assad's Forces Damage Mosque that Sparked Revolt
Jordan woman's throat slit in "honor" killing, police say
Mubarak court appearance stuns Egyptians
Venezuela Votes to Choose Chavez Successor
Gulf countries meet over Iran nuclear radiation fears
US 'committed' to defend Japan from NKorea threats
Gulf Cooperation Council Urges Iran to Boost Nuke Safety
Palestinians summon Canadian envoy over East Jerusalem visit
 

Gulf Cooperation Council Urges Iran to Boost Nuke Safety

Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—The secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council has urged Iran to join an international accord on nuclear safety following an earthquake near the country’s lone energy-producing reactor. Abdullatif al-Zayani, opened a meeting in Riyadh today in order to discuss the risk of radiation spreading over the Gulf if Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is damaged by another earthquake.

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck close to the Bushehr nuclear power plant last week, killing at least 37 people, but leaving the plant undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it.

There is no indication of any radiation leak following last week’s earthquake and the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said the plant was built to withstand much bigger quakes.

Al-Zayani urged Iran to join the U. N.’s Convention on Nuclear Safety, which allows greater review by the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency. But Iran is part of other U.N. pacts to report any nuclear accidents.

In a related development, several tremors hit parts of Southern Iran today, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency. According to the report, the biggest of the tremors measuring 4.3 on the richer scale struck the city of Kaki, Bushehr Province, at approximately 07:31 local time (0301 GMT). The deadliest quake to hit Iran was in June 1990, which measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and more than 100,000 injured in the northwestern provinces of Gilan and Zanjan. It devastated 27 towns and about 1,870 villages.

Syrian shelling kills two in Lebanon
Now Lebanon/Missiles originating from Syrian territory on Sunday killed two Lebanese citizens in border towns in Hermel, one in Al-Qasr and another in Housh Al-Sayyed Ali. The Army Command issued a statement confirming the death of one man and the injuring of three others in Al-Qasr by Syrian shells, which also caused material damage. Other reports by the National News Agency claimed that eight Lebanese were injured in this incident and identified the man who passed away as Ali Hassan Qataya. Army units heavily deployed in the area following the incident and took the necessary measures to protect residents of the border towns.
The state agency also revealed the identity of the Housh al-Sayyed Ali victim, thirteen-year-old Abbas Kheir al-Din. Meanwhile, the army statement noted that army units will “properly retaliate to the source of attacks.” MTV reported that it was the Free Syrian Army that launched the missiles on Al-Qasr from the Homs province of Al-Qusayr. Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman condemned these incidents and called for putting an end to such assaults.“[These attacks] have only caused the death of innocent Lebanese nationals that have nothing to do with the conflict taking place outside their country,” the NNA quoted Suleiman as saying on Sunday.
A Loyalty to the Resistance MP, Hussein al-Moussawi, also denounced the death of the two Lebanese men saying that those who launched the shells “cannot be considered Syrians; their nationality is serving the Zionist projects to destroy Syria.”Syrian shells have frequently landed on Lebanese towns and villages near the Lebanese-Syrian border during the course of the past months, causing casualties as well as material damage.
 

Obama administration is a letting the Syrian regime slaughter Its own people
Elias Bejjani: While the Obama Administration is detached from reality and doing nothing to help the Syrian people, Al Assad regime has used and is preparing to use Chemical weapons against his own people who want freedom and nothing else. What a Hippocratic free world that we are living in?
The below Report is from DEBKAfile
Chemical warfare looms over Syria. Israel passes atropine to rebels
http://www.debka.com/article/22895/Chemical-warfare-looms-over-Syria-Israel-passes-atropine-to-rebels-
DEBKAfile Special Report April 13, 2013/
As the Syrian civil way went into its third year this week, signs abounded of increasing readiness for the use of chemical weapons on both sides of the conflict.
Since February, the US, Israel, Ankara and Amman have been aware of Bashar Assad’s resolve to override their threats and resort to deadly poison gas if the rebels closed in on the heart of Damascus. On April 3, an unnamed Syrian army officer made the warning clear. By continuing to advancie on Damascus, he said, “the rebels and their leaders” were assured of “certain death.”
At about the same time, DEBKAfile reported exclusively that the Syrian ruler had ordered protective suits for chemical warfare and gas masks distributed to the 4th and 3rd Divisions defending the capital. Tank commanders were told to activate their filtering systems against chemical and biological agents.
Protective suits have since been distributed to the Syrian army units fighting in southern Syria and the Golan, the enclave divided between Syria and Israel by the 1974 ceasefire that ended the Syrian war of attrition after the Yom Kippur War.
These steps were registered by the joint counter-chemical warfare center set up between the US, Israel, Turkey and Jordan when President Barack Obama visited their capitals in the third week of March. In the last few days, Israeli troops were asked by this center to start handing out atropine injections or IV drips to Syrian rebels fighting Syrian troops on the Golan.
Extracted from deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), Jimson weed (Datura stramonium) and mandrake (Mandragora officinarum), atropine is highly effective for blocking such nerve agents as sarin, VX, soman and tabun and counteracting the effects of poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and low heart rate.
The IDF’s distribution of a chemical weapon antidote to Syrian rebels may be regarded as the first Israeli intervention in the Syrian conflict, a small step past administering medical treatment to Syrians wounded in battle.
The Syrian high command will have noted this, or been tipped off by its Iranian, Russian or Hizballah intelligence comrades. And, say DEBKAfile’s military sources, this may account for the Syrian decision for the first time in 34 years to direct shell fire at an IDF Golani patrol on duty Friday night, April 12, in the northern Golani area of Kibbutz El-Rom.
No one was hurt. But in order to deter the Syrians from making this attack a precedent, Israeli artillery and a Tamuz rocket returned the fire, achieving a direct hit on the Syrian outpost.
The British disclosure April 12 in the Times of London of soil samples smuggled out of Syria provided forensic evidence of the use of chemical weapons but carefully avoided assigning responsibility.
Though containing traces of “some kind of chemical weapon” collected from an unidentified “neighborhood on the outskirts of Damascus,” the British experts could not identify the type of weapon – possibly even tear gas – or whether it was fired by forces loyal to President Assad or the rebels fighting him.
DEBKAfile’s military sources note that, even if Britain’s MI6 secret service knew the answers to these questions, they would take care not to make them public so as not to build up the pressure for Western military intervention - pledged by President Obama in the event of chemical weapons being used in Syria – before the US president was ready to give the go signal.

Salam Looks Forward to Everyone's Cooperation to Form National Interest Cabinet
Naharnet/Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam thanked on Sunday all the Lebanese who congratulated him on his nomination and said he looked forward to everyone's cooperation to form his new government.
In a statement issued by his press office, Salam thanked all the Lebanese for their support since he was tasked with forming the cabinet earlier this month. “This sympathy, which I am proud of, puts more responsibility on me and creates an impetus for more work to confront the huge national challenge facing us and the formation of the cabinet of national interest,” he said. “I look forward for the cooperation of loyalists in Lebanon,” Salam added. Earlier this week, Salam said he was switching to the Off mode and would not make any statements to the media during the process of cabinet formation. The PM-designate faces a difficult task over the March 8 alliance's insistence to form a national unity cabinet and March 14 coalition's call for a government whose members are not running in the parliamentary elections.Salam's call for a government of national interest mainly lies in not having political figures in a small cabinet that would be able to supervise the polls.

Siniora: Salam shares the same Liberal principles as us
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s Future bloc leader MP Fouad Siniora stressed that PM-designate Tammam Salam shares the same Liberal principles that the Future movement does.
“[Salam] shares the same main Liberal principles as us,” the National News Agency quoted Siniora as saying during the meeting of the international liberalism executive committee held on Saturday evening.
The bloc leader also said that he will help Salam “form a government that exposes Lebanon’s true [identity] and message in the region and in the world,” adding that “we will work hard with the premier-designate to guarantee holding the parliamentary elections on time.”“We cannot accept putting our democracy, which we gained decades ago, on hold, at a time when the Arab world is engaging in an [actual] battle for democracy,” he added.
Lebanese parliamentarians have held talks with PM-designate Tammam Salam ahead of the formation of the new government after which Salam said that “the central task of the government is to prepare for the parliamentary elections and it cannot be a national unity government or a political one.”

Amal seeks consensus regarding govt formation, MP says
Now Lebanon/Amal’s Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss said on Sunday that his party is seeking consensus on the formation of a new government. The National News Agency quoted him as saying during a funeral ceremony that a "government of technocrats, or some other form of neutral governance, does not correspond to the reality, in Lebanon. The term neutral does not exist in our country." "Some want a monochromatic government, but we want a government for all," he continued. March 14 has called for a neutral, non-partisan cabinet, while March 8 demands a partisan “national unity” cabinet representing all parties in proportion to their share of parliament. March 8’s Free Patriotic Movement is also specifically seeking to retain control over the energy and telecom ministries; a prospect rejected by March 14’s Future Movement, which advocates a reshuffling of all portfolios. On Wednesday, for the second day running, Lebanon’s parliamentarians held talks with PM-designate Tammam Salam ahead of the formation of the new government after which he said that “the central task of the government is to prepare for the parliamentary elections and it cannot be a national unity government or a political one.”Concerning the electoral law, Khreiss stated that "the approval of the law on the suspension of the deadline until May 19 does not mean the postponement of parliamentary elections, but rather that MPs will be given the opportunity to develop an electoral law." On Tuesday, the parliament held a session and approved the amendment of the deadlines regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections, candidacy applications, withdrawal of candidacies and the elections date.

Next cabinet to be comprised of 24 ministers, Future MP says
Now Lebanon/Future bloc MP Hadi Hobeish expects that the next cabinet will be comprised of 24 ministers. “The final formula for the cabinet, which is supposed to be revealed in the coming days, is a non-political cabinet of 24 ministers,” Hobeish said in remarks published Saturday in As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper. The Future bloc MP also denied that his party was directing the cabinet formation process. “The Future Movement does not intervene in the work of the PM-designate, and the communication between the latter and the Future Movement is the same with all other parties,” he said. Lebanon is awaiting the formation of a new government after caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati announced his resignation last month citing differences within his cabinet over electoral and security issues. PM-designate Tammam Salam held talks over the last few days with the country’s parliamentarians and consulted with them over the shape of the government that he will attempt to form.

President Michel Suleiman Slams Israeli Overflights, Calls for International Action
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman slammed Israel on Sunday for its continued threats against Lebanon, urging the international community to pressure it to end its intimidation.
In a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency, Suleiman said: “The Israeli enemy continues to threaten Lebanon through its overflights in a new and grave violation of (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1701.”
“The international community and the Security Council, which claim they are keen on stability in Lebanon and the region, should pressure Israel into giving up such acts,” he said. The Jewish state should also “be persuaded that there will neither be peace nor stability unless it gets involved in the peace process in the region on the basis of the Madrid conference and the opportunity provided by the Arab summit of Beirut in 2002.”
Israeli warplanes continue to fly over Lebanon. On Sunday, fighter jets carried out mock raids during medium altitude overflights in al-Khiam, Marjayoun, al-Arqoub, Nabatiyeh and Iqlim al-Tuffah.

Lebanon's president voices importance of national interest
Now Lebanon/Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on Saturday called on Lebanese politicians and party leaders to make the country’s national interest a priority.
“Putting the national interest above all other considerations [should be] the common goal that officials and [party] leaders [strive to achieve],” the National News Agency quoted Suleiman as saying.
The president also reiterated the importance of holding the parliamentary elections on time “to [maintain] Lebanon’s image and reputation as a democratic country that deserves the respect of the international community.”
Last month, Suleiman and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati signed a decree to hold the elections on June 9, a move that would have the elections take place according to the current 1960 law if the country’s political parties fail to reach a consensus on a new electoral draft.This decision sparked angry responses from the March 8 coalition, who refuse to contest an election under the 1960 electoral law and have repeatedly called for the Orthodox proposal to be brought up for a vote in a plenary session of the parliament

Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel suspends submissions deadline for election nominations
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel issued a decree Saturday by which the deadline for submitting the parliamentary elections nominations will be suspended until May 19.
However, the Interior Ministry will resume accepting nominations between May 20 and 25. Candidates who wish to withdraw their nominations should do so before June 1.Those who withdraw their nominations will be reimbursed with half of the fee they paid to run for the elections scheduled for June 16.Last Saturday, President Michel Suleiman signed off on a decree by which the parliamentary elections that were set to be held on June 9 would be postponed for one week and the deadline for submitting nominations for the June 16 elections was also extended from April 10 to 24.Meanwhile, the parliament held a session on Tuesday and approved the amendment of the deadlines regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections, candidacy applications, withdrawal of candidacies and the elections date.

Future MP: 1960 law will be valid if new law isn’t agreed to
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s Future bloc MP Mohammad al-Hajjar said that the 1960 electoral law will remain in effect in the event a new, consensual law is not reached by May 19.“The 1960 law will remain valid in the case that a new consensual law is not reached by May 19,” Hajjar said in an interview with As-Siyasah Kuwaiti newspaper published on Sunday. He explained that “this position is not taken [because of our] love for the [1960] law, but [is a position taken] out of respect for the rule of law and concept of devolution of power in this country.” Lebanon is set to elect new parliamentary representatives in June 2013, but the country's political circles are divided on the issue of a new electoral law. This disharmony has come to fruition despite the cabinet’s approval in September 2012 of a draft law based on proportionality and 13 electoral districts.
The Future MP reiterated his party’s desire “to form a neutral government that will supervise the parliamentary elections. It will be comprised of people who are not running in the elections.”
“It seems, given the statements being made, that the country’s other party is the one that doesn’t want a government to supervise the elections, and instead wants to see a political government sworn in, one which will extend the parliament’s mandate and [causes] a vacuum in the country,” he continued.March 14 has called for a neutral, non-partisan cabinet, while March 8 demands a partisan “national unity” cabinet representing all parties in proportion to the number of seats they presently have in parliament. March 8’s Free Patriotic Movement is also specifically seeking to retain control over the energy and telecom ministries; a prospect rejected by March 14’s Future Movement, which advocates a reshuffling of all portfolios. On Wednesday, for the second day running, Lebanon’s parliamentarians held talks with PM-designate Salam ahead of the formation of the new government after which he said that “the central task of the government is to prepare for the parliamentary elections and it cannot be a national unity government or a political one.”

PSP will appeal elections deadline suspension law, minister says
Now Lebanon/Lebanese caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour, an affiliate of the Progressive Socialist Party, said that PSP MPs are moving towards appealing the draft law approved by parliament to suspend elections deadlines.“National Struggle Front parliamentarians, along with a number of MPs who stood against the motion, are moving towards appealing to the draft law approved by parliament to suspend the elections’ legal deadlines,” Abou Faour told An-Nahar newspaper in remarks published Sunday.
He added that “the draft law on deadline suspension guarantees that an… appeal [will take place], not only of the current electoral law, but also of the elections, in addition to major constitutional violations.”
Last Saturday, President Michel Suleiman signed a decree by which parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on June 9 will be postponed for one week, and the nomination submission deadline was extended from April 10 to April 24. On Tuesday, parliament held a session and approved the deadline amendments regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections, candidacy applications, withdrawal of candidacies and the election date.
The PSP minister also stressed that “the discussion on forming the government is only beginning and there is no need to cause tension or fears which some parties are doing.”“PM-designate [Tammam Salam] is a balanced, moderate person, and any government that may be proposed later will not be provocative or [unfair] towards any [one particular] party,” Abou Faour stated.
On Wednesday, for the second day running, Lebanon’s parliamentarians held talks with Salam ahead of the formation of the new government after which he said that “the central task of the government is to prepare for the parliamentary elections and it cannot be a national unity government or a political one.”

FPM official to NOW: Salam initially wanted a de facto govt
Now Lebanon/A Change and Reform bloc official told NOW on Saturday that PM-designate Tammam Salam was leaning towards forming a de facto government but changed his mind after President Michel Suleiman voiced his disapproval.He also said that “Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt also refused forming such a government,” adding: “Therefore, based on these reasons, negotiations are ongoing.”He stressed that “if a formula for the electoral law is agreed upon quickly, the formation of the government will be facilitated.”Lebanon is set to elect new parliamentary representatives in June 2013, but the country's political circles are divided over the electoral law issue despite the cabinet’s approval in September 2012 of a draft law based on proportionality and 13 electoral districts.The Free Patriotic Movement official warned against “walking into an open-ended crisis.”
March 14 has called for a neutral, non-partisan cabinet, while March 8 demands a partisan “national unity” cabinet representing all parties in proportion to their share of parliament. March 8’s FPM is also specifically seeking to retain control over the energy and telecom ministries; a prospect rejected by March 14’s Future Movement, which advocates a reshuffling of all portfolios.On Wednesday, for the second day running, Lebanon’s parliamentarians held talks with Salam ahead of the formation of the new government after which he said that “the central task of the government is to prepare for the parliamentary elections and it cannot be a national unity government or a political one.”
 

FPM official: Jumblatt’s interests go against Christians’
Now Lebanon/Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun said that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt can only secure parliamentary seats for his party at the expense of Lebanon’s Christians. “The problem with Jumblatt is that he cannot maintain [himself] in the equation unless [it was] at the expense of the Christians’ just representation in the Mount Lebanon [district],” Aoun told Al-Liwaa newspaper in comments to be published on Monday. Meanwhile, the Free Patriotic Movement official said that if the Future Movement proposes a solution to “rectify the Christians’ representation,” it would be a “big step towards reestablishing good relations between the [two parties].” The March 8 lawmaker later tackled the electoral law issue, reiterating his party’s utter refusal of holding the upcoming parliamentary elections under the auspices of the current 1960 law. “On May 19, the MPs will have two options: either agree on a new [electoral] law, or vote on the Orthodox proposal as an [alternative] to the 1960 law,” Aoun noted. On Wednesday, Lebanon’s parliament voted to extend election deadlines until May 19 as the scheduled June 9 parliamentary elections loom closer. Lebanon’s president and premier had signed in March a decree to hold the elections on June 9, which would see the vote held under the auspices of the 1960 law if no new law is adopted. However, many parties fiercely objected to the adoption of the 1960 law. The electoral law deadlock was one of the reasons that prompted Speaker Nabih Berri to call for a parliamentary session to convene on Wednesday in order to amend the upcoming elections’ deadlines, including candidacy applications, withdrawal of candidacies and the election date. Elsewhere, the FPM parliamentarian echoed his party’s advocation for the new Premier-designate Tammam Salam to form a “political government” in which all parties would be represented. However, Salam said on Wednesday that the new government “cannot be a national unity government or a political one,” after he held talks with the country’s MPs for the second day running concerning the formation of the cabinet that will oversee the elections.

Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani announces HIC election winners
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani announced on Sunday the winners of the Higher Islamic Council elections’ winners.The Mufti declared in an issued statement that the candidates of the Beirut, Hasbaya, Marjeyoun, Sidon, Mount Lebanon, and Akkar areas won uncontested, adding that “the elections were legitimate.”Qabbani stressed that “this occasion is a historical one where the results of the HIC’s elections was democratic and happened quietly and securely.”However, LBC television reported that the elections in the Beqaa district were postponed because there was no quorum due to four members of the voting committee leaving the meeting. The Tripoli elections are also yet to take place.On Friday, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said that a new Council will be elected on Sunday, denying reports on any postponement.In November 2012, Qabbani called for a new election for the HIC, but clerics in the body allied with the Future Movement opposed the move, after which the Grand Mufti reversed his decision and called for a new election in late February. The mostly Sunni Future Movement and Qabbani are at loggerheads over the management of the Dar al-Fatwa religious body.The mufti later condemned the calls made by caretaker PM Najib Miqati for the extension of the term of the current council.

Muslim figures slam Islamic Council elections
Now Lebanon/Opponents of the elections of a new Higher Islamic Council that took place earlier on Sunday questioned the legitimacy of this poll. “There was no quorum where the elections took place [and where] the so-called winners were announced,” former Minister Omar Meskawi said in a statement released on Sunday following a meeting the opponents held. The former official went on to express “appreciation” for all those who boycotted these elections “which can only take place when the [Dar al-Fatwa] institution is unified.”He also called on the former prime ministers to “adopt the necessary measures” in order to deal with the situation.
The absence of quorum was made official in a statement released by the General Directorate of the Islamic Endowments, in which it was announced that there was no quorum in both Tripoli and The Beqaa.
The statement added, nevertheless, that by-elections will take place at a later period to be announced by Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani.
Earlier on Sunday, Qabbani announced the winners of the Higher Islamic Council elections in the Beirut, Hasbaya, Marjeyoun, Sidon, Mount Lebanon, and Akkar areas. However, the candidates won uncontested.
The Grand Mufti stressed that “the elections were legitimate,” and that they were “democratic and took place quietly and securely.”
On Monday, the Dar al-Fatwa religious institution reiterated its call on the electoral bodies in all Lebanese areas to partake in the election process of new members of the Higher Islamic Council despite the Council of State’s decision to suspend the call for voting made by the Grand Mufti.In November 2012, Qabbani called for a new election for the Islamic Council at the end of the year, but clerics in the body allied with the Future Movement opposed the move, after which the Grand Mufti reversed his decision.Some reports have also claimed that clerics in the council aim to unseat the Grand Mufti.

Syria troops break siege of key army camps
Now Lebanon/Syrian troops have broken a months-long rebel siege on two key military bases in the northwestern province of Idlib, killing at least 21 opposition fighters, a watchdog said on Sunday. "Regime forces managed to lift the siege on the Wadi Deif and Hamdiya military camps after the army went around the rebel fighters and attacked them from behind," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.At least 21 rebels were killed in the attack, which focused on the village of Babulin, the Britain-based group said.Troops "now control two hilltops on either side of the Damascus-Aleppo international highway" reopening a supply route for the army, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP by phone.The watchdog said two military trucks carrying materiel and soldiers have since been spotted passing through the area for the first time in months.
The area is in the countryside near the strategic town of Maaret al-Numan, which fell to rebel forces last October.Rebels began blocking military supply routes north and to the nearby Wadi Deif and Hamdiya army bases after they seized Maaret al-Numan, which lies on the Damascus-Aleppo highway.Elsewhere in the country, the Observatory reported air raids on the Al-Hajar al-Aswad suburb of southern Damascus, as well as continued shelling of the Daraya suburb, where regime forces have been struggling to oust rebels.Violence throughout Syria killed 138 people on Saturday, according to a tally from the Observatory, which relies on a network of doctors and activists on the ground for its figures.

Syria reporters wounded in Aleppo car bomb
Now Lebanon/A car bomb attack in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Sunday killed two people and wounded 18, including three state television journalists, the channel reported.Shadi Helw, the channel's Aleppo correspondent, and two cameramen, Yahya Moussali and Ahmed Suleiman, were among the wounded, the broadcaster said. "Two terrorists who were driving the explosives-packed car tried to attack an intelligence center in Aleppo. The terrorists were killed and 18 people were injured, including the journalists," it reported. The channel added that Helw and Suleiman were lightly wounded, but that Moussali had been seriously hurt, without giving details.State news agency SANA said regime forces "intercepted terrorists driving a car bomb about 500 meters from a security headquarters and managed to kill one of the bombers before the other detonated the bomb."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP by phone that the attack had taken place "at a military checkpoint near the officers' club in Furqan district" in western Aleppo.

Jordan woman's throat slit in "honor" killing, police say
Now Lebanon/Jordanian police said on Sunday they found the burned body of a pregnant woman whose throat had been slit and belly cut open showing her four-month-old fetus, in an apparent "honor killing." "We found the body of the woman at dawn in Ruseifeh [east of Amman]. Her throat was slit in a hideous way. The body was burned after the murder," a police spokesman said. "We believe it was an honor crime. The belly of the woman, who was in her twenties, was cut open and we could see her four-month-old unborn child, who was dead too. Investigations are still under way."Between 15 and 20 women die in so-called "honor" murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes. Murder is punishable by death in Jordan, but in "honor killings" courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency.

Syria rebels slam Al-Nusra over Al-Qaeda pledge
AFP/Now Lebanon/Not all of Syria's Islamist rebel brigades are standing by Al-Nursa Front's decision to pledge allegiance to Al-Qaeda.  A decision by the head of the jihadist Al-Nusra Front to pledge allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has prompted unprecedented criticism from some of Syria's Islamist rebel brigades. Until now, rebels had sought to bury their differences with Al-Nusra, reluctant to jeopardize ties with a force that is militarily superior to most of the country's rebel factions. But an announcement this week by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, claiming Al-Nusra as part of its network, and a pledge of allegiance from Al-Nusra's chief to Zawahiri have prompted rare direct and public criticism. "When we in Syria launched our jihad [holy war] against the sectarian regime... we did not do so for the sake of any allegiance to a man here or another there," the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front, an umbrella group of rebel brigades, said in a statement on Thursday. It criticized the announcement from Al-Qaeda in Iraq, accusing the group of seeking to "impose a state on us without consulting us, led by an emir we did not choose or even hear of except through media outlets." "Pledging allegiance to someone who does not understand our reality does not serve our people or nation," the group added.Other more hardline rebel movements, including the powerful Salafist Ahrar al-Sham brigade which fights with the Syrian Islamic Front umbrella group, have been less willing to criticize Al-Nusra publicly.
But activists say the two groups have had strained relations, and the so-called "ideological godfather" of the Syrian Islamic Front criticized Al-Nusra's decision to pledge allegiance to Al-Qaeda.
"We protect the principles of Islam like the Islamic state, fighting in the name of God and his prophet Mohammed, Islamic law," Abu Baseer al-Tartusi said in a televised interview.
"But all reference to certain names that create a strong reaction around the world against the Syrian people must be avoided," he said.
"You do not need to say that you belong to this name, or that I'm fighting for this banner... when you know that this will hurt the Syrian people and help the tyrant," he added, referring to President Bashar al-Assad.
Aron Lund, an expert on Syria's insurgency, said Al-Nusra's pledge of allegiance to the non-Syrian Zawahiri could backfire on the ground, where rebels are already suspicious of foreign fighters among Al-Nusra's ranks.
"This is a major public relations issue. Al-Nusra's own hardcore sympathizers may be happy about the allegiance to al-Zawahiri, but it may become more difficult for Al-Nusra to recruit new sympathizers," Lund told AFP.
Tensions between Al-Nusra and Islamist rebels have already boiled over once in the aftermath of the capture of Raqa, the first provincial capital to fall to opposition fighters.
In Tal al-Abyad in Raqa province, members of the Islamist Farouq brigade and other opposition fighters clashed with Al-Nusra for control after the withdrawal of regime troops.
Activists and observers have long warned that if the Assad regime falls, a battle between Al-Nusra and other rebel groups could follow. But Lund said the fighting in Raqa showed such conflict could erupt even before a government ouster. "Raqa proves that day may be closer. With the regime out of the way, the battle shifted almost immediately," he said. The latest developments "suggest to Syria's Islamists that Al-Nusra wants to go from the status of one military rebel force among others to the political leader of the uprising," Thomas Pierret, an expert on Islamism in Syria, told AFP."This is obviously unacceptable to them," the other groups, he added. "For the first time, the Islamists have a tangible criticism to make on the place of Al-Qaeda in Syria," said Pierret, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. "It can be summarized as: 'Who are you to proclaim an Islamic state when Assad hasn't yet fallen, and especially, who are you to proclaim yourself as leaders?'"

Mubarak court appearance stuns Egyptians
Agencies/Now Lebanon
After months of rumors that Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak was at death's door, footage of the toppled leader looking strong and defiant in court on Saturday stunned many who had cared little about his fate.
The 84-year-old Mubarak who is being held at a military hospital in Cairo, has been treated for a heart condition, fractured ribs, fluid in the lungs, depression and high blood pressure, according to lawyers and official accounts.
At one point last year he was even declared clinically dead as he slipped into a coma. There were questions over whether he would appear in court on Saturday for his scheduled retrial along with his top security chiefs for their alleged complicity in the murder and attempted murder of hundreds of peaceful protesters on January 25-31, 2011. But on Saturday, Mubarak was in the dock, sitting upright and looking strong. Wearing sunglasses, he waved and smiled at supporters, chatting casually with his two sons Alaa and Gamal who face corruption charges.In the event, the retrial came to an abrupt end with the main judge stepping aside and sending the case to the Court of Appeal, which will then refer it to a new circuit. "I expected to see a sick old man and I expected to feel sorry for him," said Cairo resident Heba Radwan. "But the pictures of him smiling and waving, they were so provocative."
His demeanour was in stark contrast to the pictures of a pale and ailing Mubarak at the start of his trial in August 2011. "Mubarak in top form" read the headline of the state-owned Al-Akhbar.
"I was furious when I saw him in the cage," said Ahmed al-Sayyed, who works at a Cairo cafe. "I had forgotten about him. I didn't even watch the trial live. But when I saw him on television later, I couldn't believe the provocation," he said. In January, Egypt's highest court, the Court of Cassation, ordered a retrial for Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his life sentence, citing procedural failings.
Former interior minister Habib al-Adly had also been sentenced to life for his involvement in the deaths of the protesters, but controversially his security chiefs were acquitted, sparking widespread anger and protests after the verdict in June. President Mohamed Morsi, who won elections last June on the Muslim Brotherhood's ticket, had pledged new trials for former regime officials, including Mubarak, implicated in the protesters' deaths.
But Morsi's presidency has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, a revolt in the canal cities, sectarian violence and a devastating economic crisis, in what many fear is taking Egypt to the brink.Mubarak had long warned that if he were to step down, chaos would sweep the country. Some say that a feeling of vindication may explain his attitude in court. "Thanks, Guys", read the headline in the independent pro-revolution daily Al-Tahrir which also translates as "Thanks Brotherhood", a reference to Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood which has dominated politics since the uprising. "The revolution struggles, Mubarak smiles," said the independent daily Al-Shoruk. A cartoon in Al-Tahrir shows the trial judge asking Mubarak where his lawyer is.
"Why do I need a lawyer or defense? Morsi, bless him, has done a great job," Mubarak replies.

Arab Gulf countries meet over Iran nuclear radiation fears
Daily Star/DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia: National emergency officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries met on Sunday in Saudi Arabia to discuss the risk of radiation spreading over the Gulf if Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant is damaged by another earthquake. A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station last week, killing dozens of people but leaving the nearby plant undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it. There is no indication of any radiation leak following last week's tremor and the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said the plant was built to withstand much bigger quakes. But the plant on earthquake-prone Iran's southern coast is a growing worry for its neighbours, because the prevailing winds of the Gulf mean that if radiation ever does escape it would probably be blown over the Qatari capital Doha and the main oil exporting ports of the United Arab Emirates.GCC Secretary-General, Abdulatif al-Zayani, said that Gulf Arab states must have a joint plan to collectively deal with any possible leak from the Iranian facility. "The earthquake that the Iranian city of Bushehr was subject to has raised a great deal of concern among GCC countries and the international community of a possible damage to the Bushehr nuclear reactor that could causing a radioactive leak, God forbid," Zayani said at the start of the meeting in Riyadh. "The GCC countries have previously warned against the danger of the nuclear reactor of Bushehr and the possible nuclear leak and its harmful effect on the environment in the Gulf," he added. Zayani said and the six Gulf Arab states have previously urged Tehran to ensure its facility complies with international safety standards and join the Convention on Nuclear Safety, but Tehran did not show any sign it understood international concerns over its nuclear programme. Iran is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the convention, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated a wide area and made 160,000 Ukrainians homeless. Western countries have imposed sanctions on Iran over its wider nuclear programme, which they say could include weapons. Tehran says its programme is for peaceful purposes only. Saudi oil export ports could be spared by prevailing winds carrying any fallout further east over Qatari gas export facilities, UAE oil ports and big cities Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most nuclear plants are designed to withstand earthquakes and shut down safely if there is a major earth movement.
In March 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook Japan, causing four nuclear power plants to shutdown their 11 reactors, as designed. But a subsequent tsunami destroyed back-up generators at one of them, Fukushima, causing its cooling system to fail and three of the reactors to melt down. Iran sits on major fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes, including a 6.6-magnitude quake in 2003 which flattened the southeastern city of Bam and killed more than 25,000 people. The GCC countries are the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Egypt’s Christians Must Stay

By: Osman Mirghani/Asharq Alawsat
In the sermon he gave during the funeral mass for the victims of the sectarian clashes that Egypt witnessed last week, Bishop Raphael—who also serves as secretary of the Coptic Church’s Holy Synod—said: “We will not leave Egypt; neither bloodshed nor lack of security rules Egypt.” Although such discourse always raises some concerns, it also keeps alive hopes that the voice of reason and wisdom will prevail to confront the recurrent attempts to incite sectarian violence in Egypt.
The source of concern is that a considerable portion of the Christians do not feel reassured and they are of the view that certain groups are seeking to drive them out of the country through intimidation and sectarian violence. The objective of this is to eliminate peaceful coexistence between the people of Egypt. As for hopeful indications, this can be seen in the widespread condemnation that these incidents have elicited across Egypt, not to mention the strong rejection of any attempts to incite violence and end the historic peaceful coexistence that has characterized the country for thousands of years. Bishop Rafael emphasized that Egypt’s Christians will not leave “our” country. This was a message that was further highlighted by the local media, which reported that those attending the funeral mass chanted: “This is our country.” This determination raises hopes that the attempts by a small minority to incite sectarian violence will end in failure. Even if such attempts may intimidate some to migrate, the majority of Egypt’s Christians will stay in the country, determined to champion coexistence and confront anybody who seeks to jeopardize Egypt’s unity, rip apart its social fabric, or drown it in sectarian violence.
Provocative sectarian discourse can be seen clearly in a number of media outlets, particularly television channels adhering to Egypt’s Islamist current. It has become customary for some figures to make defamatory statements against Egypt’s Christians. What is even worse is that some of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership used discourse that included explicitly threatening the Copts via the media or social networking. Likewise, leading figures in the Salafist Al-Nour party issued a number of provocative statements in the media.
This escalatory climate had explicit repercussions on the ground, as could be seen in the harassment and attacks of women who participated in the protests against the Brotherhood rule. Some of these women informed the media that regime supporters had physically and verbally assaulted them, which included sectarian insults. According to reports, regime supports had insulted these women describing them as “ dishonorable” Christians, when in fact many of them were Muslim.
During the parliamentary and presidential elections, we heard reports about Islamist supporters denying Christian voters access to the polls by means of threats and intimidation.
One cannot help but feel bewildered when hearing a Muslim Brotherhood leader—in this case Essam Erian—urging Egyptian Jews in Israel to return to their “homeland” i.e. Egypt, while at the same time some Islamists are seeking to expel the Copts, who have a well-known historic presence in the country. We also saw Islamist supporters appear on television channels inciting against Egypt’s Coptic community, issuing the most defamatory statements with the sole objective of inciting sectarian violence.
There are a lot of things in Egypt that have been difficult to understand since the revolution was hijacked and many people’s hopes and dreams were dashed. However, there can be no doubt that it is these escalating sectarian incidents and rhetoric that is the most difficult thing to understand today.
Sectarian incidents are nothing new to Egypt, and this has always been a tool that regime’s utilize to distract people’s attention away from domestic crises. Investigations revealed that senior members of Egypt’s Interior Ministry were involved in the bombing at the Al-Qiddissin Church in Alexandria in 2011 which took place at a time when the Mubarak regime was facing strong public pressure just prior to the eruption of the revolution. It appears that the objective of this was to preoccupy the general public with a fabricated sectarian crisis. However it is striking that since the revolution, sectarian conflict has returned to the scene and we have seen the emergence of a provocative sectarian tone. This is something that is particularly clear during electoral campaigns, not to mention during the controversy surrounding the new constitution, or indeed any time when there is tension on the political scene.
There are many who base their interpretation or justification of these attempts to incite sectarian conflicts on conspiracy theories, particularly those involving a foreign hand. Although there may be some truth in such theories, the primary responsibility for this lies with the domestic scene. A lot of the responsibility must be placed on the shoulders of the regime, particularly if it tends to turn a blind eye towards those who provoke sectarian discourse in return for them helping the regime impose its vision on the ground, and conspiratorially pass its policies one after another.
The danger is that playing the sectarian card is akin to lighting a match while sitting on a barrel of oil in the midst of your own home. The fire will burn everything, and nobody will be safe from harm.
Egypt must seek to avoid this sectarian incitement and the escalating climate of hatred and tension between different components of society. Instead, Egypt must spread a culture of tolerance and coexistence, where cultural and religious differences are respected, while all Egyptian nationals enjoy equal citizenship rights. If such a society could be implemented, nobody would feel marginalized or that their rights were being denied or that there were any questions regarding the concepts of citizenship or identity.
I wrote an op-ed on January 5, 2011, entitled “Beyond the Alexandria Crime.” Following this, an Iraqi Christian reader, under the alias Ashour Al-Iraqi, posted a comment that I have never forgotten. The comment read: “Two of my cousins were killed by Al-Qaeda in Mosul three years ago. The objective was to spread violence among the children of the same homeland. However this attempt did not succeed in inciting us to respond by killing the children of our Muslim neighbors or friends who had nothing to do with what was happening. In fact, they were the first to suffer as a result of Al-Qaeda’s terrorism. We preferred to leave the country than to stain our hands with the blood of our peaceful Muslim brothers who we shared both our sweetest and most bitter days with.”
Reading this comment, I can only hope that sectarianism does not spread in Egypt and that the Egyptian people will not fall prey to this.
I’m hopeful that the Egyptian people get the message and that nobody will be forced to leave the country, because a true homeland must contain everybody and exclude nobody.

Syria: Empty Statements Abound

By: Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat
The Syrian people have gotten used to hearing statements characterized by empty superficial rhetoric that seems say both everything and nothing.
Many people have called on the Syrians to stop the violence and killing, but such statements are the purview of those who don’t want to commit themselves to an explicit position, whether to support Bashar Al-Assad and his security forces or to back the armed opposition in a clear and decisive manner. This would include, at the very least, removing Assad and his regime from the scene, if not seeking to bring him to account for his crimes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is now charting this precise course, expressing anger at the bloody violence taking place in Syria and calling on all sides to stop the violence. This represents something of a retreat after the Russian narrative had previously been based completely on adopting the discourse put forward by the Assad regime. Some entertainment and media figures are also now getting involved, particularly in Lebanon and Syria. This includes those who are seeking to secure their popularity in the Arab world while at the same time supporting the Assad regime, either out of fear of what the Assad regime will do, or a genuine conviction that the Damascus regime is right. In fact, this has even reached the stage where some “stars” of the Islamic entertainment scene are now getting involved. Just days ago, the British-based Islamic singer/songwriter Sami Yusuf visited the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. Yusuf, who was born in Tehran but brought up in Britain, visited the refugee camp as part of a World Food Program tour.
He described the visit as one which stirred up strong emotions but held off from commenting on the political situation in Syria, saying that he was praying for all sides. Middle East Online quoted Yusuf as saying, “People ask me about the political aspects of what is happening, there is a lot of tension and I do not get involved in politics. In reality, I don’t know anything about the political situation, this is not my field. What I pay attention to is the humanitarian plight on both sides. I sincerely call for an end to the killing from the bottom of my heart.” Such statements do not demonstrate any explicit or clear position. In fact, the main objective of statements such as this is to conceal any clear position, whether out of a desire not to reveal one’s true viewpoint, or to conceal ignorance and lack of understanding of the complexities of the Syrian crisis. On the other hand, such demands are neither reasonable nor practical. Nobody is going to give up the fight at this point, neither the regime nor the opposition. In this case, it is clear that those who are making such demand either have no true position of their own or are simply confused. This absurd situation is the result of regional and international inability to curb the Syrian crisis. This has led everybody to switch to the rhetoric of hope rather than working on the ground to change the reality of the situation. In this case, we can only thank the world at large for these confused and meaningless statements, from Washington to Sami Yusuf.

Palestinians summon Canadian envoy over East Jerusalem visit
AFP/The Palestinian Authority on Sunday summoned Canada's envoy to convey "strong dissatisfaction" over Foreign Minister John Baird's visit last week to annexed east Jerusalem. The Palestinian foreign ministry summoned Katherine Verrier-Frechette "to express its strong dissatisfaction over the meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird and Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in east Jerusalem," a statement read. Baird met Livni, lead peace negotiator in Israel's cabinet, at her office in east Jerusalem on Tuesday, in a move normally avoided by visiting diplomats because it could be seen as legitimizing Israel's controversial annexation.
According to Israeli media, Baird has deliberately done so to set a "precedent." Israel captured East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
The Jewish state considers all of Jerusalem its "eternal, indivisible" capital, but the Palestinians want the eastern sector as capital of their future state.
Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi said he was "extremely shocked" by the east Jerusalem meeting.
"This position is a violation of UN resolutions" and "attempts to legitimize the Israeli occupation of east Jerusalem," a spokesman for Arabi said in Cairo.
Former Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath on Friday lambasted the visit as an "unprecedented recognition of the illegal Israeli annexation of Palestinians' occupied capital" and a "slap in the face to the Palestinian people."
And Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said "diplomatic recognition of the situation created by the attempted annexation of our capital is a flagrant violation of international law" that "severely undermines current US efforts" to rekindle a peace process. Canada is one of Israel's staunchest allies and was one of the few countries that opposed a successful Palestinian bid for upgraded status at the United Nations late last year.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor praised the visit and Canada's "straight talk" on international issues.