LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 31/2013

Bible Quotation for today/Teaching about the Law
Matthew 05/17-20: "Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with—not until the end of all things. then, whoever disobeys even the least important of the commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be least in the Kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys the Law and teaches others to do the same, will be great in the Kingdom of heaven. I tell you, then, that you will be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven only if you are more faithful than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees in doing what God requires."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Are You Serious, Mr. President?/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Alawsat/January 30/13
The Spiral of Retribution in Egypt/By Ali Ibrahim/Asharq Alawsat/January 30/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 30/13
Lebanese Lawmakers to restart vote law talks
Lebanese President, Sleiman: Civil marriage is a Lebanese right
Lebanese Celebrities throw hats into election fray
Lebanon: Ministry extends Alfa, touch contracts
Hariri, Jumblat Stress Need to Preserve Taef ِAccord, Coexistence
Mustaqbal on Eve of Committees' Meeting Rules Out Orthodox Law, Postponing Elections
Subcommittee Completes Report on Electoral Laws ahead of Joint Parliamentary Committees Meeting
Report: Al-Mustaqbal Initiative Based on 1960 Law and Orthodox Proposal for Senate
Aoun Urges Mustaqbal Bloc against Boycotting Joint Parliamentary Committees Meeting
MP, Sami Gemayel slams Lebanon mufti over civil marriage remarks
Lebanese Entertainer Lands Muslim Brotherhood in Hot Water
Analysis: Al-Qaida's increasing presence in Lebanon
President Sleiman: Refugee camps a possibility
Personal dispute suspected in Hay al-Sellom blast
Election fever running high in Tripoli
UNIFIL wants to use Riyaq airport for medical evacuations
Lebanese MP repeats accusation that telecoms minister embezzled funds
Egypt, Syria are falling apart – an Israeli nightmare unfolds
Israel summons envoy over Iran-Argentina panel
Canada Concerned Over Iran’s Involvement in Terror Probe
Israeli High Court hears appeal from Lebanese terrorist Mustafa Dirani
Large arms shipment intercepted off Yemen, Iran eyed as source
Debate over civil marriage in Lebanon
Dozens of Bodies Found in Syria River
No Interpol Red Notice for Al-Qaeda Widow
Egyptian official warns of collapse of state
Syrian troops battle rebels in oil-rich east
Syrian refugees top 700,000 as exodus swells - U.N.

Hariri, Jumblat Stress Need to Preserve Taef ِAccord, Coexistence
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday held talks with former prime minister Saad Hariri at the latter's residence in the French capital Paris, Hariri's office announced.
The two leaders “discussed the regional situation in all its aspects and the challenges Lebanon is facing,” according to a statement issued by Hariri's office.
Jumblat and Hariri “stressed the need to preserve the Taef constitution and religious coexistence in Lebanon which provide protection for national unity and stability in the face of these challenges.”
They also discussed “the various proposals on the electoral law and the stances of all parties and agreed to continue consultations over this issue in a manner that serves the interests of Lebanon and the Lebanese.”
Jumblat discussed with French President Francois Hollande on Monday “the importance of preserving stability in Lebanon and safeguarding the country from Syria's conflict.”
Hariri met with Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday. “Efforts are currently being exerted to achieve true partnership while preserving the March 14 (alliance) and the national interest,” Gemayel told An Nahar daily in remarks published on Tuesday.SourceAgence France Presse

President Sleiman: Taif and Constitution clear on right to civil marriage
January 30, 2013 /By Van Meguerditchian The Daily Star
BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman tasked Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi with drafting a new law that would grant Lebanese couples the right to civil marriage as the debate over the issue continued to rage Tuesday.
Reiterating his support for optional civil marriage in Lebanon, Sleiman said that ministers should study a draft law proposal that was not adopted in 1998 and prepare a new law.
“If we fail to draft a new law, many MPs will submit a draft proposal in Parliament,” Sleiman told ministers at the start of the Cabinet session. “The most important pillars of national unity are an election law and a law regulating personal status,” he added.
The president criticized officials who have rejected discussing the means to legalize civil marriage a day after Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani issued a religious edict warning all Muslim officials against sponsoring such a law.
“Every Muslim official, whether a deputy or a minister, who supports the legalization of civil marriage, even if it is optional, is an apostate and outside the Islamic religion,” Qabbani said.
Sleiman said that the debate on the subject had been ongoing for decades, adding that it would be a violation of the constitution to reject its discussion.
“Since the 1950s, the debate on this issue has been ongoing, with the initiative of late President Elias Hraoui in 1998 and most recently by Kholoud Succaryieh’s decision to sign a marriage contract with the supervision of a public notary,” Sleiman said. “All this discussion is happening while a large number of Lebanese men and women are getting married outside Lebanon as if this country is not their nation.”
Addressing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Sleiman said that Lebanon could remain stagnant while the world moved forward and that progress reaches Lebanon by trends ongoing in the region.
“We cannot overlook the aspirations of the youth regardless of their sectarian differences ... Refusing to address this issue in state institutions or refusing to approve a marriage is a violation of the Taif Accord,” the president said.
Sleiman, who has received praise from many members of civil society and citizens through social networking websites in the past week, said that the Constitution was clear in equality between Lebanese.
“Lebanon is part of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1972 and it clearly states [the right to a consensual marriage] in Article 23 that mandates the right of marriage og individuals.”
Sleiman also said that Muslims should not consider his support of optional civil marriage as an attack against Islam because presidents are bound by the Constitution to defend national unity. “As I clearly stated in my opposition of the Orthodox Gathering [election law], my stance was not directed against Christians. Similarly, my stance on civil marriage is not directed against Muslims,” the president added.
“In the last Cabinet session that the prime minister headed when I was away in Russia, he considered that the subject is not suitable for the time being,” Sleiman added. The president has engaged in a Twitter feud with Mikati on the issue over the past few days.
Mikati, who has refused to place the issue of civil marriage on the Cabinet’s agenda, praised Sleiman for his statements but reiterated that it is not time to discuss the issue.
“Today we are facing many big issues, and we have many concerns and priorities that we should address instead of addressing this issue [civil marriage] at this time,” Mikati said.
Meanwhile, Metn MP Sami Gemayel criticized Qabbani for his edict against optional civil marriage, saying that such a declaration marks a violation of civil rights: “It is a violation of a person’s right to practice their beliefs, convictions and freedom of expression. It is the right of any Lebanese [citizen] to abide by religion or not, and we believe that any violation of that right is a violation of the Constitution.”
He added that forcing any citizen to do something either physically or mentally was punishable by law, and that every lawmaker was obliged to protect the right of freedom of belief.

Aoun Urges Mustaqbal Bloc against Boycotting Joint Parliamentary Committees Meeting
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun hoped on Tuesday that the joint parliamentary committees meeting on Wednesday would succeed in its mission, saying that his ministers will not boycott any of its meetings.He urged the Mustaqbal bloc against boycotting the meetings, asking: “Are you simply acting as Sunnis or shouldn't you act as lawmakers as well?”
He made his remarks after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting at Rabiyeh. “If the Mustaqbal bloc wants to act as a Sunni bloc, then it is free to boycott the committees meeting,” continued Aoun. “If they want to act as lawmakers, then they should head to parliament and commit to the decision of the majority,” he stressed. “The Mustaqbal bloc believes that its boycott will prevent the committees from approving a new electoral law, but they are mistaken. Its absence will not affect the discussions because a new law does not require consensus,” noted the MP. He accused the bloc of repeatedly obstructing government work, stating that the FPM “had only once obstructed government activity” as did Speaker Nabih Berri when he suspended parliament when the other camp wanted to approve an unconstitutional draft law. Moreover, Aoun said: “We will accept any electoral law that ensures the election of 64 Christian MPs.” In addition, he rejected criticism that the Orthodox Gathering proposal fuels sectarianism in Lebanon, saying that such claims are not based on experience.
“Competition during the parliamentary elections, should this proposal be adopted, will take place between candidates of the same sect,” explained the FPM leader. The joint parliamentary committees are scheduled to meet on Wednesday in order to address the electoral subcommittee report on recent discussions over a new electoral law. The Mustaqbal bloc had said that it may boycott the session if government representatives are present. The March 14-led opposition had announced its boycott of government-related work in light of the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan on October 19. It accused Syria of being behind the crime and the government of covering up for the criminals.Despite the boycott, the Phalange Party and Lebanese Forces announced that they will take part in the committees meetings in order to ensure that an agreement is reached over an electoral law and consequently guarantee that the elections, set for June, will be held on time.

MP, Sami Gemayel slams Lebanon mufti over civil marriage remarks
January 29, 2013 01:20 PM (Last updated: January 29, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The debate over the legalization of civil marriage heated up in Lebanon Tuesday with MP Samir Gemayel slamming the mufti’s remarks as a violation of the civil state. Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Gemayel said: “The mufti’s comments are a violation of the civil state and every Lebanese person’s right which is stipulated in the Constitution.” “It is a violation of a person’s right to practice their beliefs, convictions and freedom of expression. It is the right of any Lebanese to abide by religion or not and we believe that any violation to that right is a violation of the constitution.” He added that forcing any Lebanese to do something either physically or mentally is punishable by law, and that every lawmaker is obliged to protect the right of freedom of belief of citizens. Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani made fiery remarks Monday, saying any Muslim official who supported civil marriage would not be considered Muslim. “Every Muslim official, whether a deputy or a minister, who supports the legalization of civil marriage, even if it is optional, is an apostate and outside the Islamic religion,” Qabbani said in a religious edict, or fatwa. “[Such officials] would not be washed, would not be wrapped in a [burial] shroud, would not have prayers for their soul in line with Islamic rules, and would not be buried in a Muslim cemetery,” Qabbani added. The fatwa was issued less than two weeks after President Michel Sleiman came out in support of granting Lebanese the right to optional civil marriage after two Lebanese attempted to make their civil wedding official. After deleting a mention of their religious identity from their civil registration document, Kholoud Succariyeh and Nidal Darwish tied the civil knot awaiting the approval of Interior Minister Marwan Charbel Charbel has said that approving such a contract would require a comprehensive law that would regulate civil marriage as well as divorce. Meanwhile, the debate over the controversial issue of civil marriage made its way to the Cabinet session at Baabda Palace with Sleiman defending his stance against Qabbani's. “How can anybody have the right to impose a [fatwa] on those who have lived in coexistence in contradiction to the spirit of the National Charter,” Sleiman told ministers at the beginning of a Cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace. Sleiman stressed that Lebanon is worthless without such fundamental principles. The president’s remarks prompted a swift response from Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“Civil marriage is a sensitive issue and we cannot afford a new dispute in this country,” Mikati said.

Israeli High Court hears appeal from Lebanese terrorist Mustafa Dirani
By YONAH JEREMY BOB 01/30/2013/ Mustafa Dirani seeks to sue the state for civil damages; Dirani’s attorney: Even Eichmann would have had the right to sue the state.An expanded panel of seven High Court justices, presided over by Supreme Court President Asher D. Grunis, heard a petition on Tuesday to overturn its own ruling from July 2011 in which it upheld the right of Lebanese terrorist Mustafa Dirani to sue the state for civil damages. The 2011 panel of three justices had not ruled on the merits of the claim itself, but only on whether the lawsuit could even be pursued as a matter of law.Dirani, a former leader of Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist group Amal, was believed to have had personal knowledge of the whereabouts of kidnapped IAF navigator Lt.-Col. Ron Arad. Arad – who is still missing and assumed dead – was captured by Amal forces in October 1986 during a mission to attack PLO targets near Sidon in Lebanon. Dirani was captured by Israel in 1994 and returned to Lebanon in 2004 in a prisoner-exchange deal.
The justices did not issue a decision on Tuesday, but the hearing grew heated at times.At one point, Justice Elyakim Rubinstein pressed Dirani’s lawyer, Zvi Rish, to name a worst-case scenario where a foreign enemy could not sue the state. “In what case would this not come about, meaning, there would not be a right to sue?” he asked. “If [Adolf] Eichmann had been tortured and afterward he was somewhere outside of Israel and tried to sue?” Rish tried to sidestep the issue saying, “Your honor puts me in a very difficult situation, it’s a personal question. I am second-generation [survivor] from the Holocaust.”
So am I, answered Rubinstein, who persisted nevertheless, asking whether there was any line that Rish would draw where a person’s actions against the state would mean he forfeited his right to sue.
Ultimately, Rish replied, “Even Eichmann, if he had been tortured, would have a right to sue those who had tortured him, both criminally and civilly.”
Tuesday’s hearing was a rare “additional hearing” or appeal to a broader panel which the High Court grants in only in cases that involve fundamental rights and values of the state.
The previous High Court decision upheld a Tel Aviv District Court decision allowing Dirani to continue with his NIS 6 million damages suit against the state.
In 1994, then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin ordered Israeli commandos to raid Dirani’s house in Lebanon. The terrorist leader was brought to Israel and held in administrative detention.
In 2000, Dirani filed a NIS 6 million suit in the Tel Aviv District Court, charging that interrogators had raped him, sodomized him with a club, kept him naked for weeks and humiliated him in an effort to extract information about Arad’s whereabouts.Dirani was released in 2004 as part of a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, despite a lawsuit by Arad’s family to try to prevent his release. In return, Hezbollah returned kidnapped Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum and the bodies of three IDF soldiers killed by Hezbollah in October 2000.
Dirani had announced his intention to continue to work for Hezbollah on his return to Lebanon, and the state appealed to the Tel Aviv District Court, asking for Dirani’s lawsuit to be canceled. However, in 2005 the Tel Aviv District Court rejected the state’s request to cancel the lawsuit, and the state appealed to the Supreme Court. The state had argued that Israel should act in accordance with Anglo-American law, which prohibits an enemy of the state residing in a hostile country from suing the state. However, in the July 2011 proceedings, Justices Ayala Procaccia and Salim Joubran voted by a 2-1 majority over Justice Hanan Melcer to uphold the lower court’s decision to allow Dirani to continue with his lawsuit.In the 2011 judgment, the justices wrote that in cases of alleged human rights violations by the state, it is “justified that the issue will be clarified before the state’s law courts.”
They went on to say that “this statement is also correct in regard to opening the courts’ doors to hostile parties in order to hear their claims regarding damages caused to their rights by state authorities.
“This is not a danger to the state’s power, but is actually a guarantee of its moral and ethical strength,” they wrote.As a result of the ruling, Dirani can now continue with his lawsuit – even though he remains in Lebanon.In the state’s petition, state attorneys Orit Son and Na’ami Zemeret wrote that the High Court’s ruling that the courts should “clarify claims made by an enemy” has “serious implications regarding an enemy’s claims in any legal proceedings and against any litigant.To allow an enemy of the state, located outside the state’s borders, to use legal processes as a weapon against the state, is difficult, novel and damages the sense of justice,” the state prosecutor wrote. “Moreover, hearing civil suits that will not result in any compensation may even undermine the court’s role to resolve disputes.”At the time of the July 2011 ruling, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel said, “On the one hand, Dirani can take up arms and fight in the ranks of Hezbollah, and on the other he can send lawyers to Israeli courts and sue the country he fought against – illegally and in violation of international law – for acts that allegedly occurred when he was in an Israeli prison.”

Israel summons envoy over Iran-Argentina panel
By HERB KEINON 01/30/2013 02:25 J'lem protests Buenos Aires decision to establish "truth commission" with Tehran to investigate 1994 AMIA blast. AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires Photo: REUTERS /A lack of resolve following the 1992 bombing of Israel’s Embassy might be what led to the even deadlier attack two years later at the Buenos Aires Jewish community center, a senior Foreign Ministry official told Argentina’s ambassador on Tuesday. Yitzhak Shoham, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director-general for Latin America, summoned ambassador Atilio Norberto Molteni to protest Buenos Aires’s decision to establish a “truth commission” with Iran to investigate the 1994 Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) bombing that killed 85 people, and wounded hundreds more. The bombing at the Israeli Embassy killed 29.
“Had Argentina dealt resolutely with the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy, the 1994 AMIA bombing might not have happened.”Shoham said that Israel was “astonished and disappointed” at the Argentinean government’s decision to collaborate with Iran after its “responsibility for the bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center was exposed by the investigation conducted by the Argentinean authorities themselves.”Shoham also protested “the unacceptable attitude of the Argentinean government towards Israel since the beginning of contacts between Buenos Aires and Tehran.”Shoham said that although the Argentinean authorities themselves exposed the “great resemblance” between the attacks and the involvement of Iran and Hezbollah in carrying them out, “Argentina has not responded to Israel’s legitimate requests to be informed of its new diplomatic moves with Iran, nor of the way in which Argentina envisages bringing the perpetrators to justice.”Shoham said that Argentina’s behavior in this affair was “particularly disappointing” given the “intimate relationship to which Israel is accustomed with Argentina, a very friendly country.” The “truth commission” agreement was signed on Sunday in Addis Ababa by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman who were attending an Organization of African Union summit

Egypt, Syria are falling apart – an Israeli nightmare unfolds
DEBKAfile Special Report January 29, 2013/Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel warned Tuesday, Jan. 29, that Syria is falling apart and no one knows what the next day may bring: “War may not break out tomorrow,” he said, “but we stand ready for any eventuality.”
If war is not expected tomorrow, why have Israel’s armed forces, including the air force, been on their highest level of preparedness since Friday, Jan. 25? The Syrian crisis may not technically fit the description of a state of war. However, the violent turbulence in that country may at any time spill over the border into hostilities in some shape or form.
The “no comment” stance on the Syrian civil war, long held by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak is untenable and pointless, especially after the latter cut short an overseas family trip to be flown home in a hurry Saturday.No one believes the official explanation that the three Iron Dome anti-missile batteries stationed over the weekend in northern Israel - in the sight of many thousands of local dwellers - are there for a preplanned routine test - least of all after a senior Israeli officer told AFP that large Hizballah forces are parked at Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons stores poised ready to seize them.
If this happens, said the officer, “A decision to attack Syria or Lebanon will need to be implemented immediately.”
This is beginning to sound as though the politicians and the generals are not on speaking terms.
Gen. Eshel’s comment came hard upon the grave warning issued earlier Tuesday by Egypt's army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who is also the defense minister. “The political strife is pushing the state to the brink of collapse,” he said on the sixth day of turbulent protests across the country at the cost of more than 60 lives.
Gen. El-Sissi reacted to the chaos and lawlessness engulfing Egypt. The government headed by President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood is no longer a functioning administration. They have been reduced to the single task of fighting to hang onto power. None of the forces of law and order - the army, internal security, police - are willing to clash head-on with the opposition protesters rampaging on the streets of the main cities including Cairo. Some towns have descended into chaos and some outlying areas in this country of 90 million are no longer receiving regular food and water supplies.
The Egyptian defense minister’s warning may be taken two ways:
1. As a last warning to the Muslim Brotherhood and the opposition on the streets that this is the eleventh hour and if they don’t step back from their confrontation, the military will be forced to seize power to save the country.2. Alternatively, that the army will not interfere and will stand aside for now, while warning that a civil war in Egypt would be more extensive and calamitous than the vicious conflict bringing Syria to ruin in the last two years.
As the two countries teeter on the brink of catastrophe, Gen. Eshel’s dry forecast of doom correctly noted that no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
However, Israel is coming face to face with its worst fear: being hemmed in by a blazing ring of hopeless conflicts just across its borders: Syria and Lebanon in the north; Egypt in the west and south; and Jordan under threat.

Canada Concerned Over Iran’s Involvement in Terror Probe
January 29, 2013 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“I am concerned about the impartiality of any investigation into the 1994 terrorist bombing of the Jewish cultural centre in Argentina that includes Iran, given there is credible evidence to suggest that Iran was implicated in this act of terrorism.
“We are concerned that it appears Iran will now be investigating itself.
“Iran’s ongoing support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas and its incitement to genocide of the Jewish people are all well documented. These are, in fact, reasons Canada recently listed Iran as a state supporter of terror.
“Those affected by this incident deserve justice, and that is simply not feasible if Iran joins this investigation.
“Canada is committed to the global fight against terrorism and to holding perpetrators and supporters of terrorism to account.”
Canada officially listed Iran as a state supporter of terrorism in the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act on September 7, 2012, and listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code on December 20, 2012.

Analysis: Al-Qaida’s increasing presence in Lebanon
By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON 01/30/2013/Is the group's presence, which is growing due to spillover from the war in Syria, a reality or a Syrian/Iranian propaganda? Fighters from Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra, December 2012. Photo: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters Al-Qaida’s presence in Lebanon is growing, partly because of the spillover from the civil war next door in Syria.There are reports that Jabhat al- Nusra, a.k.a. the al-Nusra Front, which the US last month designated as a terrorist group affiliated with al-Qaida, is using Lebanon as a staging ground from which to launch its operations in Syria.Great numbers of Lebanese Sunnis have been joining Islamist opposition forces in Syria in recent months, according to a senior Lebanese security official quoted in The Washington Post in the past week. The report quotes the official stating that the Sunni al-Nusra Front is establishing links with extremist cells based out of Tripoli, Lebanon, which is a center of Sunni extremists.“Small groups were organized in north Lebanon to facilitate the transport of weapons, ammunition and logistical equipment, as well as fighters, across the border into Syria with the help of smugglers. These groups initially communicated with their Syrian counterparts with cellphones but eventually began using more sophisticated and secure communication methods, such as Thuraya satellite phones,” the story read.A key man on the Syrian side is Khaled Mahmoud, a known Lebanese Islamist, who according to senior Lebanese security officials has urged Muslims to wage jihad in Syria, forming a group called Jund al-Sham, “the first Sunni armed opposition group in the Syrian conflict led by a Lebanese militant.”

Syrian Activists Say Dozens of Bodies Found in River
VOA/The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday the number of Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict into neighboring countries has risen to 700,000.
Speaking in Geneva, UNHCR spokeswoman Sybella Wilkes said the figure includes Syrians already registered as refugees and those awaiting processing in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. She said aid workers are struggling to cope with the exodus and trying to clear the backlog.Jordan has seen the biggest influx of refugees, with tens of thousands arriving in the past month.
International donors made pledges of more humanitarian assistance for Syria on Tuesday, a day before joining a U.N. aid conference in Kuwait.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Washington will provide $155 million to help Syrians make it through the winter. He said the aid will include warm clothes for children, medicine for the elderly, flour and wheat for families and blankets, boots and stoves for people huddling in damaged buildings.The new pledge raises the total U.S. aid commitment to $365 million, making Washington the largest donor of humanitarian supplies to Syria.
"The relief we send doesn't say 'Made in America,' but make no mistake - our aid reflects the commitment of the American people," Obama said. "American aid means food and clean water for millions of Syrians. American aid means medicine and treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients in Damascus, Daraa and Homs. It means immunizations for one million Syrian children. American aid means winter supplies for more than half a million people in Aleppo, Homs and Deir el-Zour. And we are working with allies and partners so that this aid reaches those in need."
EU humanitarian commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said the 27-nation bloc will double its pledges for Syria to about $270 million. She said the aid is "desperately needed" by Syrian people who are "cold, hungry and scared."
In another pledge, an international group of 77 Islamic charities said it will provide $182 million of aid to Syrians affected by the conflict. The non-governmental International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) made the announcement after meeting in Kuwait on Tuesday.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed Syria's humanitarian crisis with his Arab League counterpart Nabil Elaraby ahead of the donor conference. A U.N. statement said both men called for an "immediate end to the bloodshed and suffering" of the Syrian people and expressed concern about what they called a "dangerous spill-over" of the conflict in neighboring states.
Deaths in Syria from ongoing conflict

Lebanese Entertainer Lands Muslim Brotherhood in Hot Water
By Suha al-Sharqawi
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—Lebanese entertainer Dolly Shahine has landed the Muslim Brotherhood in hot water among its Islamist allies after performing at an event hosted by the organization’s political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) . Shahine performed at an event aimed at promoting tourism in the coastal city of Hurghada a few days ago; this event was held under the auspices of the FJP and the Al-Wasat Party.
The Dolly Shahine scandal has captured Egyptian public opinion; some are taking it seriously while others are using it as a means of satire, illustrating the political contradictions in the country. However, Helmy Al-Jazzar, secretary of the FJP in Giza, has stressed that his party was not solely responsible for the event; rather it was held under the auspices of more than twenty parties and organizations, and that the FJP’s role was merely ceremonial.
Those attending the ceremony, who were entertained by the Lebanese performer singing and dancing, were surprised by the subsequent stinging attack launched against the Muslim Brotherhood by some Salafis on social networking websites, after a clip of Shahine performing at the event was circulated online. Critics deemed the performance to be provocative.
Sheikh Mohammed Saad Azhari, a Salafi leader and a member of the Egyptian constituent assembly, criticized the FJP and its sponsorship of the event in Hurghada, which was aimed at increasing international tourism. In a statement to the press, Sheikh Azhari said, “The leaders of the FJP should not be attending an event where there are women wearing provocative outfits, and this is a slip-up on their behalf”.
For her part, Shahine commented on the backlash against her performance, telling Asharq Al-Awsat, “I am an Arab artist doing my job. I do not have any stake in Egyptian politics and am far removed from any (Egyptian) political action, especially since I am Lebanese. Nevertheless, I cannot deny my support for the Egyptian revolution.” With regards to the ceremony, Shahine claimed she had received an invitation from the Mira Group for Tourism and Event Planning to participate in a concert to mark the national day of the Red Sea governorate, and also to celebrate the Russian-Egyptian Friendship Society in Hurghada, with the aim of promoting tourism.
Shahine went on to say, “I immediately agreed without hesitation to contribute in any way to Egyptian tourism”, adding that she did not receive any fee for her performance and was the only Arab artist to participate at the event, which was attended by a number of artists, sports personalities, and media figures. On the same day of the ceremony, a press conference was held in the presence of the governor of the Red Sea, the environment minister, a representative from the ministry of tourism, as well as representatives from some Egyptian parties, but Shahine denied knowing anything about this. She added, “That evening I simply went to the concert, which was a successful event by any standards.”
Shahine expressed surprise at her name being dragged into a political dispute which she characterized as “Egyptian internal affairs that have nothing to do with me”, confirming that her contract was with the event planning company and not with the FJP. She even posted the agreement on her own social networking page. Shahine expressed her hope that political scores were not being settled at the expense of artists, and condemned the fact that her name was being used in what she called “a cheap political game”.
For his part, Dr. Mazhar Shaheen, an imam and orator at the Omar Makram Mosque in Tahrir Square, commented sarcastically on the incident, saying, “How wonderful that the Muslim Brotherhood has implemented Dolly Shahine-eqsue Islamic Sharia law, under the auspices of the Freedom and Justice Party, as we saw in a recent conference to promote tourism. However, the very important question that remains is: Are events of this sort a mistake, or are things that are prohibited permissible by necessity?

Are You Serious, Mr. President?
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Alawsat
Over the course of two separate interviews, the US President responded to criticisms that America has failed to intervene in the Syrian crisis in the appropriate manner over the past two years. He said that he is still working hard to assess whether military intervention in Syria will help to resolve the bloody conflict or whether it will only serve to make things worse!
Of course, this is not what was stunning in Obama’s statements, for every country—even a superpower—has the right to assess their interests. Rather what was shocking and frightening was Obama asking, in an interview with New Republic magazine, “How do I weigh tens of thousands who’ve been killed in Syria versus the tens of thousands who are currently being killed in the Congo?” This is not all; in another interview with 60 Minutes on CBS television, Obama angrily added, “We do nobody a service when we leap before we look, when we . . . take on things without having thought through all of the consequences.”
As we said, the issue is not the US President’s right to take his nation’s interests into account or not, for we are all aware that the US is not a charity. Rather, the issue is this logic of justification, for with all due respect to the Congo and its people: Is this country like Syria? In assessing the age of the Syrian revolution, and the death of 60,000 people, does this represent “leaping without looking?” This is truly puzzling.
For what Obama is not aware of is that the humanitarian crisis in Syria will lead to security, political, and sectarian crises that are far more complex than expected. It is clear that the US president’s problem, as shown by these statements, lies in his basic understanding of the region. What Obama is not aware of is that ignoring what is happening in Syria at present will necessitate his country spending the next 30 years confronting the crisis there. This will be far worse than what is happening in Afghanistan, which the US ignored since the 1980s, forcing it to confront the crisis that subsequently arose there today.
The other problem is that the US president does not understand the danger represented by the Bashar al-Assad regime, and that its downfall will remove the greatest obstacle to regional peace and stability. In addition to this, Assad’s departure would also represent a strategic blow against Iran, which may even ensure that Washington need not carry out future military strikes against Tehran against the backdrop of the nuclear file. Therefore Assad’s fall will also have an impact on Tehran, particularly as the collapse of his regime would mean the end of Iran’s regional expansionist project. It is also enough to consider the implications of the collapse of the Assad regime on Hezbollah, the extremist groups in Iraq, and the Palestinian militant groups.
Therefore, one can only say: Are you serious, Mr. President? Obama’s logic is frightening, and his understanding of the region terrifying and in doubt, particularly as he is the man who saw a revolution in Bahrain and pushed Mubarak to step down while today he is saying that he is working hard to assess the situation in Syria! Even more frustrating: Where are the region’s intellectuals and statesmen? Where is the diplomatic effort in Washington? Obama’s statements indicate that he has either not heard serious assessments regarding the Syrian crisis, or that he does not want to hear them; either is dangerous.

The Spiral of Retribution in Egypt
By Ali Ibrahim/Asharq Alawsat
Each generation has its own vocabulary and terminology that come to prominence in great social and political events. In Egypt, the slogan of retribution has spread far and wide, having been raised by a lot of political and non-political forces since 25 January 2011. It is an expression of the demand to hold accountable those responsible for the violence and killing of demonstrators, and to hold accountable the former or current officials responsible for the bloody clashes that have occurred in the midst of the turbulent transitional phase.
This new expression that has appeared in the Egyptian political arena has its implications. For example, for appropriate punishment there is a need to know what the offender did exactly, and although this may be possible in individual crimes, during major political events there are a lot of different interpretations and circumstances. Sometimes when a slogan is circulated in a society through political literature, especially if through the elite, it can effectively be a call for mob justice.
In the past, the term ‘to hold one to account’ was used in similar circumstances whenever there was social or political anger. Yet the expression is best suited to political action, in the sense that it should not undermine the rule of justice and the judiciary. Indeed, the judiciary may have a different opinion on the matter that the public cannot see, which is usually the case in revolutionary circumstances when the public wants rapid convictions and quick fixes—which in most cases would not constitute real justice—only to discover later that they were in fact highly unfair.
In Egypt there were two schools of thought after 25 January 2011. The first believed that traditional justice was not suitable for holding elements of the former regime or those who committed the killing of demonstrators to account, and therefore there should be something along the lines of a revolutionary court to issue quick and deterring sentences. The second, which was ultimately the course of action taken, was recourse to normal justice. One of the main slogans of the 25 January revolution was in fact justice, and Egypt has had previous experience of revolutionary courts where history has proven them not be fair. In many cases they were simply kangaroo courts with pre-prepared sentences, seeking to settle scores rather than achieve justice.
The problem is that despite the adoption of the latter school of thought, the political elite has continued to provoke the emotions of the street and has raised the slogan of retribution rather than accountability or prosecution, thus creating a gap between what is expected from the courtrooms and the sentences that the judiciary actually issues. This has led to confrontations and chaos in the courtroom itself, violating the prestige of the judiciary and its decisions taken. What we are seeing today is a natural byproduct of the arduous journey that comes with calls for retribution. These calls were raised constantly after the events of the soccer match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masry, a club located in Port Said, which led to the deaths of more than seventy fans in somewhat strange circumstances. Now, after death sentences have been issued against twenty one of the accused, anger has broken out once more in the cities of the Suez region. This has led to the imposition of a curfew and state of emergency, with the number of those who have died so far outnumbering the number that was sentenced to death. If the families of these latest victims also demand retribution, the spiral will never end.
I do not wish to belittle the gravity of what has happened, whether in terms of the initial soccer riots or the subsequent events in Port Said and most recently in the Suez region, but this is not the time to outbid one another with slogans of retribution or mob justice. It is the duty of the political elite, in all its guises, to rise to the occasion and think politically, not in terms of revenge, so that we do not see the emergence of a rift between the people of Egypt. The fact that three significant provinces are outraged means that there is a genuine problem, and it needs political wisdom to deal with it.

No Interpol Red Notice for Al-Qaeda Widow
By Huda Al-Saleh
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Interpol has raised the number of Saudi nationals served with “Red Notices” to 78. The fugitives are wanted by Saudi or US authorities on a variety of charges, including terrorism.
However the absence of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted woman, Wafa al-Shihri, from the Interpol Red Notice list was also striking. Wafa al-Shihri is the wife of Saeed al-Shihri, deputy commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and her absence from this list comes amid news that she has fled—along with her children—to Yemen. For his part, Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Colonel Mansour al-Turki told Asharq Al-Awsat that Wafa al-Shihri’s absence from this list “is based on our knowledge of her whereabouts” adding “we are coordinating directly with the relevant Yemeni authorities over this issue.”
Last week, numerous reports claimed that Al-Qaeda’s no.2 in Yemen, Saeed al-Shihri, had been killed. Saeed al-Shihri, also known as Abu Sufyan al-Azdi, was reportedly hit in a US drone strike last October in the southern Yemeni city of Saada. He is said to have died of his injuries.
Al-Shihri had initially been captured in Afghanistan by US forces in 2001 before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay. He was eventually surrendered to Saudi authorities in 2007. Al-Shihri participated in the Munasaha rehabilitation program for extremist ideology before fleeing the country to re-join Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
Reports indicate that Wafa al-Shihri fled to Yemen in order to re-join her third husband, Saeed al-Shihri. Wafa—also known as Um Hajer al-Azdi—was classified as the first woman officially listed by the security services as a member of Al-Qaeda. She is the brother of Yussef al-Shihri, whose name was included on the Saudi Interior Ministry’s list of 85 most wanted terrorist suspects. Saeed al-Shihri was Wafa’s third husband, following her first husband Saud al-Qahtani, and her second husband Abdul Rahman al-Ghamdi, himself a senior Al Qaeda member killed in clashes with Saudi security forces in Taif. Al-Qahtani, Wafa’s first husband launched child custody proceedings against his ex-wife, claiming that she is a takfirist who had illegally taken their son to Yemen with al-Shihri in 2009.
Returning to the Interpol list, the statement confirmed that Red Notices have been issued against 46 Saudi nationals for crimes relating to terrorism, 42 for other crimes including counterfeiting and forgery, 9 for financing terrorism, 5 for possessing and using explosives, and 4 for providing logistical support.
The United States Justice Department classifies Interpol Red Notices as “the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today” revealing that “Interpol circulates notices to member countries listing persons who are wanted for extradition. The names of persons listed in the notices are placed on lookout lists (e.g., NCIC or its foreign counterpart). When a person whose name is listed comes to the attention of the police abroad, the country that sought the listing is notified through Interpol and can request either his provisional arrest (if there is urgency) or can file a formal request for extradition.”