LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 12/2013

Bible Quotation for today/Teaching about Prayer
Matthew 05/06-15: "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites! They love to stand up and pray in the houses of worship and on the street corners, so that everyone will see them. I assure you, they have already been paid in full.  But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.  “When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words, as the pagans do, who think that their gods will hear them because their prayers are long. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honored; 0 may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today the food we need. Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. Do not bring us to hard testing,but keep us safe from the Evil One.’“If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
 Who Will Be the Next King of Saudi Arabia/By: Simon Henderson/Washington Institute/February 12/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 12/13
 Netanyahu Says Iran Closer to Nuclear 'Red Line'
 Saqr Demands Indictment of Samaha, Mamlouk with Plotting Terrorist Acts
 Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Harb's Attempted Murder Suspect
 Lebanin's FM, Mansour Receives Complete Report on Burgas Attack Investigation
 Three Killed in Building Collapse in Anfeh
 Suleiman Salutes Pope's 'Wise' Decision to Resign
 Connelly Meets Miqati, Charbel, Hails Premier's Determination to Hold Elections on Time
 Qahwaji Denies Army Besieging Arsal
 Tunnel Escape Plan Thwarted in Roumieh
 Plumbly Meets Miqati, Hopes Elections Will Be Held According to Constitutional Requirements
 Miqati Responds to Aoun: Defense, Interior Ministers May Intercept Phone Calls with PM's Approval
 Mustaqbal Says FPM Waging Campaign to 'Cover Up Corruption at Ministries'
 Judicial Council Approves Succariyyeh and Darwish's Civil Marriage, Charbel Says Will Not Sign It
 Police Chase in Dora after Suspected Thieves
 Optimism after New al-Mustaqbal Hybrid Vote Law Proposal
 Aoun Rejects Any Electoral Law that Does Not Ensure Election of 64 Christian MPs
 North Korea and Iran – partners in nuclear and missile programs
 Al-Qaeda affiliates attracting Canadians, CSIS head says
 Canada Unequivocally Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test
Iran denies agreeing to probe of Buenos Aires bombing
 Iran hints it will allow UN inspectors at Parchin

Tunisia: Crisis Deepens as President's Party Rejects Government Plan
 Iran Lawmakers Demand Probe over Speaker Incident
N. Korea Threatens 'Stronger' Action after Nuke Test
 Rebels Overrun Military Airport in North Syria
 Drone Kills Top Qaida cleric in Yemen
 Assad Says State, Citizens Must Work Together

Netanyahu Says Iran Closer to Nuclear 'Red Line'
Naharnet /Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran was now closer to crossing the "red line" after which it would be able to build a nuclear weapon but had not yet reached that stage.
"The Iranians are closer to the red line that I set at the United Nations," his office quoted him as telling visiting American Jewish leaders. "They haven't crossed it yet but they are shortening the time needed to cross it."
"This must be stopped," he said. "We need to apply stronger pressure and harsher sanctions." In a September address to the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu called for a "clear red line" to stop Iran getting a nuclear bomb. He used a red marker pen to draw a line through a cartoon diagram of a bomb to illustrate what the international community's limit for Iran's uranium enrichment program should be.
He said Iran had 70 percent of the necessary level of uranium enrichment for a bomb and warned that at the current pace, the Islamic republic could have nearly all the material needed to create a first bomb by summer.
Netanyahu has publicly aired his differences with the United States over the Iran issue, criticizing Washington for failing to set its own "red lines" that would trigger military action against Tehran.
President Barack Obama favors diplomacy and international sanctions against Iran to rein in its atomic program. The Iranian government says it is enriching uranium to 20 percent purity -- a short technical step from the 90 percent needed for a nuclear bomb -- for a medical research reactor. The West believes the effort hides a military goal. Much of the international community fears Iran's nuclear program includes efforts to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied. Israel, the Middle East's sole, albeit undeclared, nuclear power, believes Iran must be prevented from reaching military nuclear capabilities at any cost and refuses to rule out military intervention to that end. Netanyahu last week also accused Iran of complicity in a bombing last year that killed five Israeli tourists at Bulgaria's Burgas airport.
The Bulgarian government said Hizbullah was behind it. "The attack in Burgas was just one in a series of terror attacks planned and carried out by Hizbullah and Iran," Netanyahu said on Tuesday. "That is in addition to the support that Hizbullah and Iran give to the murderous... regime in Syria. Tehran has denied any involvement in the Burgas attack.SourceAgence France Presse

Lebanon's FM, Mansour Receives Complete Report on Burgas Attack Investigation
Naharnet/Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour received on Tuesday the complete file on the Burgas investigation report ahead of referring it to the Justice Ministry, reported the National News Agency. Bulgarian Embassy charge d'affaires Plamen Tzolov handed the minister the file, stressing that Bulgaria is “keen on maintaining its strong ties with the Lebanese state, people, and society.” He said after meeting Mansour: “The two countries enjoy historic and important ties in all fields.”“We are not only working on preserving them, but on developing them,” Tzolov added. “Lebanon has to study the file in order to make a proper response to Bulgaria,” he said. “Prime Minister Najib Miqati was clear in saying that Lebanon is prepared to cooperate fully with Bulgaria in the investigation,” he added. Asked about the possibility of handing over the suspects in the Burgas bombing to Bulgaria, he responded: “This issue concerns the Lebanese and Bulgarian justice ministries.” Asked by reporters how Hizbullah came to be linked to the attack, Tzolov replied: “I have no information on this matter as all information on the issue can be found within the Bulgarian investigation and interior minister.” “All that has been said has been reported by Bulgarian and Lebanese media,” noted the diplomat. Five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver were killed in a bus bombing at Burgas airport on the Black Sea in July, the deadliest attack on Israelis abroad since 2004. Bulgaria recently formally blamed the attack on Hizbullah, triggering renewed pressure on the European Union to follow Canada, the United States and others in formally designating the movement a “terrorist group.” The Bulgarian government said two people behind the attack held Canadian and Australian passports, but lived in Lebanon and were members of Hizbullah.
In light of the accusation, Miqati stressed that his government was "ready to cooperate with Bulgaria to shed light on the circumstances" of the attack.

Optimism after New al-Mustaqbal Hybrid Vote Law Proposal
Naharnet/A parliamentary subcommittee discussed on Tuesday a hybrid draft-law proposal made by al-Mustaqbal bloc, a move that was lauded as a step forward to reach consensus on a new law ahead of this year’s elections.
Al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat announced after the subcommittee meeting that the bloc remains committed to an initiative announced by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. But he stressed that al-Mustaqbal proposed a hybrid draft-law for 70 percent of MPs to be elected under the winner-takes-all system and the rest under the proportional representation system out of its keenness on holding the elections on time. Hariri had called for a small-district law for the polls and for the establishment of a senate representing all religions and sects as stipulated by the Taef agreement. The hybrid proposal was first made by MP Ali Bazzi from Speaker Nabih Berri's parliamentary Liberation and Development bloc to appease Lebanon's different factions that were divided between those supporting the winner-takes-all and proportionality systems. Al-Mustaqbal's proposal on Tuesday was hailed by its ally the Lebanese Forces as a step forward.
LF MP George Adwan said following the subcommittee meeting that “things have now become easier” after Fatfat made a suggestion on the hybrid draft-law.
He stressed the nine members of the subcommittee believe that elections would only be held based on a new law. The lawmaker also expressed belief that they are capable of reaching an agreement by Friday and referring the draft-law to the joint parliamentary committees to study it. The highly optimistic MP said that only details were left to be dealt with by the members of the subcommittee, which is set to meet again on Tuesday afternoon as the deadline for the expiry of its mission on Friday approached. Its chairman MP Robert Ghanem said the subcommittee also discussed two other proposals made by the Progressive Socialist Party representative, MP Akram Shehayyeb, and Bazzi to introduce amendments to them. “We want the interest of Lebanon first to guarantee the interest of all other factions and parties,” he told reporters.
An Nahar daily had said that Phalange MP Sami Gemayel and Adwan are expected to make their own proposals in the coming two days.
A suggestion made on Monday by Shehayyeb from the National Struggle Front bloc of PSP chief Walid Jumblat was rejected by the nine-member subcommittee for failing to comply with the five standards of the hybrid draft-law. The standards include the fair representation of Christians and Muslims, a balance between the March 8 and 14 alliances, the adoption of minimum 26 districts in the winner-takes-all system and 5-10 districts in the proportional system. Shehayyeb reportedly proposed 64 percent of the seats be based on a majority system.
While Bazzi suggested an equal distribution of seats between the proportional and winner-takes-all systems.

Aoun Rejects Any Electoral Law that Does Not Ensure Election of 64 Christian MPs
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun renewed on Tuesday his rejection of a parliamentary electoral law that does not guarantee the election of 64 Christian MPs, while warning against handing over telecommunication data to security agencies.
He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “We have the right to take our case to the constitutional council if our demand for a law that ensures the election of 64 Christian lawmakers is not met.”“Those dealing with constitutional matters should seriously address their mission and not even think about canceling the elections,” he warned.
One draft law has garnered the support of the majority and it should be referred to parliament, he said in reference to the Orthodox Gathering proposal that was approved by the Christian parties of the Phalange Party, Lebanese Forces, FPM, and Marada Movement. The proposal was rejected by President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, the Mustaqbal Movement, various independent March 14 MPs, and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat. The draft law calls for each sect to elect its own candidate running for a seat at parliament. On Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel's hybrid law proposal, which he made on Monday, Aoun remarked: “We would gladly approve it if it guarantees the election of 64 Christian MPs.”
Commenting on the dispute over the telecom data, Aoun said: “The minister is responsible for his ministry and handing over the data is unconstitutional.”
Certain laws need to be followed in order to meet this demand, he explained. Privacy among the people will be eliminated if the security agencies' request is met, he noted.
Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui rejected the agencies' demands while Miqati insists that the work of those agencies shouldn't be disrupted.
“Ministers have to implement decisions before objecting, we can't obstruct the work of the security agencies,” Miqati said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper Tuesday.
The premier referred to Sehanoui on Monday a decision to hand over to security agencies the necessary telecom data according to article 140 of the wiretapping law, which specifies the protection of communication data.
Sehanoui had rejected the request made by Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, arguing that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority didn't approve it.
“If they are not pleased with the minister's decision, then they should amend article 140 of the wiretapping law,” continued Aoun.
“They will then obtain the complete data and then be faced by human rights groups and the United Nations,” stated the MP. Addressing Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to Damascus over the weekend, Aoun said: “We appreciate the visit and its results.” “We hail the Christian meeting that took place, which demonstrated Christian unity and we hope that the outcome of the trip will reverberate across the region,” he added.
Al-Rahi traveled to Damascus on Saturday to attend the enthronement of Greek Orthodox leader Youhanna X Yazigi at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa, which was held on Sunday.

Miqati Responds to Aoun: Defense, Interior Ministers May Intercept Phone Calls with PM's Approval
Naharnet/Prime Minister Najib Miqati criticized on Tuesday Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's remarks on the telecommunications data dispute, saying that rules exist that specify how to handle this issue.
He said in a statement: “Article 9 of article 140 of the wiretapping law stipulates that each of the defense and interior ministers could be granted the right to intercept phone calls through written consent and the prime minister's approval in order to garner information aimed at combating terrorism and crimes against the state.”This right was asserted by a delegation that visited France in August 2012, it added.
The delegation traveled to France to inquire about laws that tackle telecom data. The delegation’s report stipulated that the prime minister has the final say over whether the data can be handed over to the sides that have requested it, stressed the statement. “We do not want to enter an argument with any side, but we will suffice by saying that we are responsible for committing to defending the truth, especially if this person is the prime minister, whose jurisdiction is clear and not up to debate,” it noted. “Given the current situation, each official is required to contribute to the implementation of article 9 in a manner that would help the armed forces and Internal Security Forces combat terrorism and organized crime,” said the statement. Aoun had rejected on Tuesday a request by security agencies to be handed telecom data, saying that it is unconstitutional and suggesting that article 9 be amended for this demand to be met. Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui also rejected the agencies' demands while Miqati insisted that the work of those agencies shouldn't be disrupted.
“Ministers have to implement decisions before objecting, we can't obstruct the work of the security agencies,” Miqati said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper Tuesday.
The premier referred to Sehanoui on Monday a decision to hand over to security agencies the necessary telecom data according to article 140 of the wiretapping law, which specifies the protection of communication data.
Sehanoui had rejected the request made by Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, arguing that the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority didn't approve it.
 

Who Will Be the Next King of Saudi Arabia?
Simon Henderson/Washington Institute
February 12, 2013
Riyadh's latest appointment suggests that traditionally secretive royal rivalries may be moving into the public eye as the succession process comes to a head.
Speculation about who will rule Saudi Arabia in the future is mounting after the surprise February 1 appointment of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz as second deputy prime minister, a post long viewed as "crown prince in waiting." The unexpected move puts a spotlight on the complicated politics and procedures surrounding Saudi succession.
BACKGROUND
Prince Muqrin is the youngest surviving son of the late Ibn Saud (a.k.a. King Abdulaziz), the founder of Saudi Arabia. He is now the third most powerful person in the kingdom, behind King Abdullah (who also serves as prime minister) and Crown Prince Salman (the deputy prime minister). Both of these men are ailing, however: Abdullah (age 90) is rarely seen standing upright and has a limited attention span, and Salman (77) has dementia. In comparison, Muqrin (70) appears to be in good health.
His appointment has confused analysts because he was sacked as head of the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate just last July. Although no reason was given for that decision, he was assumed to lack the mettle needed for undermining the pro-Iranian Assad regime in Syria, where Riyadh is competing with its Gulf rival Qatar for influence and control of jihadist fighters. This assumption may have been mistaken.
Additionally, the change comes just three months after Muqrin's nephew, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, was elevated to the important position of interior minister (equivalent to the U.S. secretary of homeland security), seemingly setting Muhammad up as a potential future king. Indeed, during a visit to Washington last month, Muhammad met with President Obama in the White House, a privilege not normally accorded to foreign officials of that rank and therefore widely perceived as conferring U.S. approval of his regal prospects.
COMPLICATED SUCCESSION
In the past, the Saudi line of succession has been from brother to brother among the sons of Ibn Saud, in contrast to the father-son method seen in most other monarchies. The main qualification has been seniority in age, though some princes have been passed over due to incompetence or unwillingness to take the role. One consequence of this system has been shorter reigns for most of the kings since Ibn Saud, as his sons are increasingly old and often ailing when they assume the throne. For years, many have argued that the crown should pass to the next generation, the grandsons of Ibn Saud -- hence the excitement following Prince Muhammad's meteoric rise to interior minister. But the royal family has never been able to agree on when this shift should happen, and which line should be chosen.
Muqrin's new status also challenges another presumed succession principle: that the king's mother should be from a Saudi tribe. Muqrin's mother was Yemeni, and it is not even clear that Ibn Saud was married to her.
Indeed, Ibn Saud's domestic arrangements in the 1920s to 1940s are central to understanding current succession politics. By the time he died in 1953, he had fathered forty-four sons, thirty-five of whom survived him. This feat was accomplished by having twenty-two wives, though in keeping with Islamic tradition he was never married to more than four at a time (see the author's book After King Fahd: Succession in Saudi Arabia).
Some historians -- and all Saudi officials -- emphasize that these marriages and the resulting offspring were vital to uniting the tribes and stabilizing the nascent kingdom. The reality is more nuanced: one well-researched work (The House of Saud by David Holden and Richard Johns) notes that in addition to four wives, Ibn Saud typically had four favorite concubines and four favored slave girls "to complete his regular domestic team." Muqrin's mother, usually identified as "Baraka the Yemeni," was presumably in one of the latter categories.
Ibn Saud clearly regarded Muqrin as a full son. The question now is the attitude of Muqrin's sixteen half-brothers and his many nephews, who might regard their own pedigrees as superior. Apart from age, the other criteria for becoming king are experience, acumen, popularity, mental stability, and the status of one's maternal uncles (which indicates whether one's mother was a slave or concubine; see After King Abdullah: Succession in Saudi Arabia).
CURRENT ROYAL FACTIONS
Muqrin himself has no recorded full brothers, a status he shares with King Abdullah, which might explain the perceived bond between the two men. Fraternal alliances have been significant in royal politics. For decades, the so-called "Sudairi Seven" -- full brothers Fahd, Sultan, Abdulrahman, Nayef, Turki, Salman, and Ahmed, all born to Hassa al-Sudairi -- were a crucial constituency. Although the deaths of King Fahd and Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef depleted the bloc's strength, Crown Prince Salman continues to lead the faction despite his dementia, propped up by his own sons and Sudairi nephews.
Assessing the combined strength of these nephews presents its own challenges. Muhammad's elder brother Saud bin Nayef was recently named governor of the oil-rich Eastern Province, but he replaced another Sudairi nephew, Muhammad bin Fahd. In addition, one of Salman's sons has been appointed governor of Medina province. Clearly, the Sudairi nephews possess the experience and ability to remain a significant force in palace politics.
LEGAL AMBIGUITY
Saudi laws and official statements fail to clarify how the current situation will evolve. The 1992 Basic Law of Governance merely states that "rule passes to the sons of the founding king and to their children's children." The principal qualification is to be "the most upright among them," and this vague criterion is not defined.
In 2006, King Abdullah established an Allegiance Council of princes to help guide future succession. Yet the scope of its role is ambiguous: the council was not involved in the selection of new crown princes to succeed Sultan (who died in 2011) or Nayef (who died last year). In both cases, Abdullah chose the replacement and the council merely approved it. The Allegiance Council Law does include a mechanism to replace the king and crown prince if they are incapable of carrying out their duties for health reasons; the kingdom is arguably nearing this point.
Legally, Muqrin's new post -- second deputy prime minister -- exists only to provide an additional person to chair the weekly Council of Ministers meetings; the position has therefore gone vacant at times. According to the Law of the Council of Ministers, these meetings "are presided over by the king, who is the prime minister, or by a deputy of the prime minister." It is therefore by convention, not law, that the second deputy prime minister is destined to be crown prince.
Whether any of the above legal documents or bodies will actually be used to determine Saudi Arabia's future kings or crown princes is a matter of conjecture. There is nothing to stop the king from abolishing the Allegiance Council and establishing alternative procedures. Meanwhile, various succession scenarios are swirling through the kingdom and the wider Arab world. One is that Muqrin will become king and appoint Abdullah's son Mitab as his crown prince, thereby cutting out Sudairi challengers. Although rivalries within the House of Saud traditionally play out behind palace walls, the increasingly high stakes suggest that the rest of the world may get a glimpse of the coming maneuvers.
**Simon Henderson is the Baker fellow and director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Program at The Washington Institute.

North Korea and Iran – partners in nuclear and missile programs
DEBKAfile Special Report February 12, 2013/There is full awareness in Washington and Jerusalem that the North Korean nuclear test conducted Tuesday, Feb. 12, brings Iran that much closer to conducting a test of its own. A completed bomb or warhead are not necessary for an underground nuclear test; a device which an aircraft or missile can carry is enough.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s boast this week that Iran will soon place a satellite in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers - and Tehran’s claim on Feb. 4 to have sent a monkey into space – highlight Iran's role in the division of labor Pyongyang and Tehran have achieved in years of collaboration: the former focusing on a nuclear armament and the latter on long-range missile technology to deliver it.
Their advances are pooled. Pyongyang maintains a permanent mission of nuclear and missile scientists in Tehran, whereas Iranian experts are in regular attendance at North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.
Since the detonation of the “miniature atomic bomb” reported by Pyongyang Tuesday - which US President Barack Obama called “a threat to US National security”- Iran must be presumed to have acquired the same “miniature atomic bomb” capabilities - or even assisted in the detonation.
Word of the North Korean atomic test reminded US officials of Ahmadinejad’s boast only a couple of days ago about the forthcoming launch of an Iranian satellite into orbit. The two events clearly hang together as probably coordinated between Tehran and Pyongyang.
Ahead of the UN Security Council emergency session later Tuesday, Kim Jong Un’s government warned of “stronger actions” after the nuclear test. Its diplomat warned the UN disarmament forum that his country will “never bow to any resolutions.” The nuclear threat is not the only unconventional warfare peril looming closer. In Damascus, Syrian rebels are nearer than ever before to crashing through the capital’s last lines of defense. Tuesday, they were only 1.5 kilometers short of the heart of Damascus. Western and Israeli military sources believe that if the Syrian rebels reach this target, the Syrian ruler Bashar Assad will have no qualms about using chemical weapons for the first time in the two-year civil war to save his regime. Both the US and Israel have warned him that doing so would cross a red line.
debkafile’s military sources report that Syrian rebel forces, spearheaded by an Al Qaeda-allied Islamist brigade, gained entry Tuesday to the 4th Division’s (Republican Guard) main base in the Adra district of eastern Damascus and are fighting the defenders in hand to hand combat for control of the facility.
Other rebel forces are retaking parts of the Damascus ring road in fierce battles, thereby cutting off the Syrian army’s Homs units in the north from their supply lines from the capital.
These two rebel thrusts, if completed, would bring the Syrian army closer than ever before to collapse. Assad is therefore expected to use every means at his disposal to cut his enemies down.

Al-Qaeda affiliates attracting Canadians, CSIS head says
CBC – The head of CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned Monday that Canadians are involved in every al-Qaeda affiliate group and that these groups have mentioned Canada as a possible target.
Richard Fadden appeared before the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence in Ottawa. He told the committee the threat posed by al-Qaeda is changing and becoming harder for authorities to track.
"Al-Qaeda in the [Afghanistan/Pakistan] area was the directing brain that caused 9/11. It has been much weakened," Fadden said.
"But on the other hand, all of their affiliates…..they are much, much more operational than they used to be, They are beginning to communicate between themselves far more than they used to. And in every single case, there are Canadians who have joined them," he said.
"CSIS is currently aware of dozens of Canadians — many in their early 20s — who have travelled or attempted to travel overseas to engage in terrorism-related activites in recent years," he told the committee.
"I think the threat remains roughly at the same level. But it has morphed, though, into something that’s harder to get your hands on."
Fadden says Canadians who join militant groups do so for many reasons.
"You have a range of people who want to seem self-important among their own groups, to other people who are motivated by a deep sense of religious wrongdoing. I think in the middle, where we’ve found most of the people, it’s largely individuals who feel that the Muslim world is under attack and that somehow Canada is contributing to that."
Fadden told the committee al-Qaeda has switched tactics over the years. The group, he says, used to work toward "big bang" attacks like 9/11. Today, he says, it aims to carry out smaller acts of violence through affiliate groups or even individuals.
"It is slightly more difficult to get our hands on these cases," Fadden said. "But there are fewer plans for really big incidents."
Fadden’s comments come as the federal government tries to establish the facts around two high profile attacks overseas in which Canadians are believed to have been involved.
The government of Algeria claims Canadians took part in an attack on an oil facility in that country. Meanwhile, investigators in Bulgaria says a Canadian citizen helped carry out a deadly attack on a tourist bus in that country last year that killed five Israeli tourists and a bus driver.
Fadden touched on other topics during his appearance before the Senate committee, including cybersecurity and the case of convicted spy, navy Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Delisle.
The CSIS director says that even though the Delisle case has led to increased security in many government departments, he can’t guarantee Canada or its allies won’t fall victim to espionage again.
"He (Delisle) didn’t do anything obvious that would lead either ourselves or the Defence Department to believe that he was a traitor," Fadden said.
"That’s almost always the case," he added.
"Similar cases in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom; it’s the quiet guy who doesn’t make a fuss who often succeeds in doing this."
On cybersecurity, Fadden blames a large number of cyberattacks on "two or three states" that "throw thousands and thousands of people at it."
"This is not an issue that security agencies can solve by themselves," he said.
"This is going to require the involvement of foreign ministries that would encourage, I think, the development of international norms somewhat similar to the laws of war in years past."
As for the role of CSIS in fending off all these threats, Fadden told the senate committee he is right now satisfied with the resources his agency is receiving. But he says that may change.
"I think our general view is that we’re okay for now," he said.
"But if cyber, in particular, continues to worsen almost exponentially, I’m not sure we’d be able to say the same thing in two or three or four years."

Canada Unequivocally Condemns North Korean Nuclear Test
February 12, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“The North Korean regime’s reckless disregard for the global will is again on display.
“This test—North Korea’s third—is provocative and marks a serious, misguided threat to regional peace and security.
“What makes such actions even more unconscionable is the fact that the North Korean people starve and are denied their basic human dignity while the Pyongyang regime squanders limited resources.
“While we had hoped the passing of dictator Kim Jong-il would have closed a sad chapter in North Korea, we are disappointed that his son has continued the irresponsible path of placing weapons before the well-being of people.
“Canada will work with our international partners to pursue all appropriate actions and sanctions against the rogue regime in North Korea.”

Rebels Overrun Military Airport in North Syria
Naharnet /Rebels on Tuesday overran a military air base, a watchdog said, a day after seizing control of Syria's largest dam as they pushed an assault on strategic targets in the north of the country.
The military advance came as prospects for a political solution to Syria's civil war faded and as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged President Bashar Assad's regime to accept an offer of dialogue by an opposition leader. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels captured a military airport in al-Hajjar in Aleppo province, and in the process seized for the first time a fleet of deployable warplanes including MiG fighter jets.
During their assault on the airport, the rebels killed, injured or imprisoned some 40 troops, the Britain-based watchdog said.
"The remainder of the troops pulled out from the airport, leaving behind several warplanes and large amounts of ammunition," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence France Presse.
Rebels also launched offensives on other airports in the region, activists said.
"At dawn Tuesday, several rebel battalions launched simultaneous assaults on Aleppo international airport and Nayrab military airport," the grassroots anti-regime Aleppo Media Center said via Facebook.
The international airport at Syria's second city has been closed since January 1.
Activists in Aleppo have told AFP that fighters in the north have shifted their focus to the capture of military airports and bases.
"They are important because they are an instant source of ammunition and supplies, and because their capture means putting out of action the warplanes used to bombard us," Aleppo-based activist Abu Hisham said via the Internet.
But while the rebels have notched up victories in northern and eastern Syria they have yet to take a major city in the war-ravaged country, which is largely at a military stalemate almost two years into the revolution.
The capture of al-Jarrah airport came just over a month after rebels overran Taftanaz airbase, the largest in northern Syria.
Amateur video shot by rebels overrunning al-Jarrah and distributed via the Internet showed a fleet of warplanes lining the airport's runways.
"Thank God, Ahrar al-Sham (Islamist rebels) have overrun the military airport" at al-Jarrah, said an unidentified cameraman who shot a video at the site.
"MiG warplanes are now in the hands of Ahrar al-Sham. And here is the ammunition," the cameraman added, filming two Russian-made fighter jets similar to those used by the army since last summer to bombard rebel targets.
According to U.N. figures, more than 60,000 people have been killed in violence across Syria since the eruption of an anti-Assad revolt in March 2011.
As well as lives lost, the raging conflict has caused massive infrastructural and economic damage. Supporters of Assad's regime meanwhile planned a demonstration for next Tuesday in Damascus, under the slogan "resistance against terrorism", using the authorities' term for rebels. The Observatory said at least 137 people were killed in violence across the country on Monday. Among them were 49 civilians.
Source/Agence France Presse

N. Korea Threatens 'Stronger' Action after Nuke Test
Naharnet/North Korea said its nuclear test Tuesday was only a "first" step and warned of stronger action if it was faced with tougher sanctions as a result.
"The latest nuclear test was only the first action, with which we exercised as much self-restraint as possible," the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the country's official news agency.
"If the U.S. further complicates the situation with continued hostility, we will be left with no choice but to take even stronger second or third rounds of action," it said without elaborating.
The statement came just hours after South Korea's spy agency chief warned Pyongyang might carry out another nuclear test or ballistic missile launch in the coming days or weeks.
North Korea said Tuesday's test was directly targeted at the United States. It accuses Washington of inciting global condemnation of its nuclear program and of leading the sanctions charge in the U.N. Security Council.
Its claim of miniaturization suggests that it is a step closer to fitting a nuclear warhead onto a ballistic missile. The confirmation from North Korean news agency KCNA came nearly three hours after seismic monitors detected an unusual tremor at 02:57 GMT in the area of the country's Punggye-ri nuclear test site, close to the Chinese border.
Analysts said the timing appeared to be an attention-grabbing calculation from a state well versed in provocative acts, coming just ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union address at the start of his second term.
North Korea's two previous tests in 2006 and 2009 triggered waves of U.N. sanctions, and the Security Council was set to meet in emergency session on Tuesday morning in New York in response to the third detonation.
In a series of stances, World powers condemned the NKorean third nuclear test in defiance of stark international warnings.
On a technical level, along with the miniaturization aspect, experts are hungry to know if North Korea used up more of its scarce reserves of plutonium, or exploited uranium in a new and self-sustaining path to atomic detonations.
The test came after North Korea earlier Tuesday had called for "high-intensity" action and further long-range rocket launches, after incurring U.N. wrath for firing a ballistic rocket in December.
Tuesday's explosion yielded six to seven kilotons, South Korean defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters, significantly more than the 2006 and 2009 tests.
He said it was unclear yet whether uranium was used.
The explosive yield compared with 15 kilotons in the world's first atomic bomb dropped by the United States on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.
North Korea's first test yielded less than one kiloton and was widely seen as a dud. The second test yielded between two and six kilotons, according to Seoul. The third test throws down a stark security and diplomatic challenge to Obama as well as to new Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Masao Okonogi, an expert on North Korea and professor emeritus at Keio University in Japan, noted the timing ahead of the State of the Union and said North Korea under Kim Jong-Un was sticking to its past tactics.
"Their tactic is to produce a crisis and press the international community to negotiate with them," he told Agence France Presse.
"North Korea will not stop just with this nuclear test but continue dragging out this nuclear crisis towards July, when Washington will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ceasefire in the Korean War.
"North Korea's strategy is to upgrade the ceasefire to a peace treaty. Pyongyang will soon start a campaign, in which it will try to normalize ties with the United States."
Pyongyang's promise of a "higher-level" test had fueled speculation it would be of a uranium device.
A uranium test would confirm suspicions that the North has been secretly enriching weapons-grade uranium for years and open a path for Pyongyang to significantly expand its small nuclear arsenal.
There will be particular concern at any sign that the North has made progress in the technically complex process of "miniaturizing" a bomb to fit on the head of a long-range missile.
Proven miniaturization ability would take on added significance in the wake of December's rocket launch, which marked a major step forward in ballistic prowess, and provoked still-tighter U.N. sanctions. At the U.N. Security Council, the United States and its allies will push hard for China to get tough with its erratic ally. But China's leverage is limited, analysts say, by its fear of a North Korean collapse and the prospect of a reunified, U.S.-allied Korea directly on its border.
SourceAgence France PresseAssociated Press