Bible Quotation for today/God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble

Peter's First Letter 5/1-11: " I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed.  Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;  neither as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.  When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away. Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, to subject yourselves to one another; for “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.  Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.  But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources

Daily Star/Interview/National Bloc leader Carlos Edde: No place for moderates in Lebanon/March 21/13
Why do Arab Nations Fail/By: Adel Al Toraifi/Asharq Alawsat/March 21/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 21/13

Saint Joseph's Day

http://10452lccc.com/documents07/saint%20yousef19.3.12.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm

The Catholic Church celebrates on March 19 each year Saint Joseph's Day. God Bless all those who carry his name, Joe Joseph and Youssef. This great Saint is the symbol of humality, reverence and Chastity

Click here to know more about this day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Joseph's_Day

Pope’s call first thought to be a prank

By Claudine Zap/Yahoonews
Pope Francis is known for his informal style. This has charmed the masses, but doesn’t work so well over the phone.
According to a story in the Daily Mail, the pontiff rang a Vatican receptionist directly, which is apparently a papal no-no. The disbelieving man thought the call was a prank, and said, “Oh, yes? And I’m Napoleon.”
Luckily, Francis has the patience of a saint, and he convinced the man he was the real deal. The pope wanted to be connected with Adolfo Nicolas, the superior general of his old Jesuit order, according to the Mail.
He told the disbeliever, “I really am Pope Francis. Do not worry, Andreas, just connect me with Father General, I would like to thank him for the charming letter.”
The receptionist realized his error, because who else talks like that? A Vatican expert explained that the pope doesn’t usually make his own calls—that's done through a secretary. But the humble man hailing from Argentina, known for cooking his own food, living in his own apartment and riding the bus to work, has other ideas. Once selected as pope, Francis notably skipped the papal limo, choosing instead to ride the bus with the cardinals. And on his way to the Mass that established him as head of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope frequently got out of his car to greet the crowds, kiss babies and, in one instance, bless a disabled man.
His humility may serve him well as he addresses a church torn by the sexual abuse of children and rumored Vatican corruption. His modesty was in full display when, at his first dinner after the election, he told the gathered cardinals, “May god forgive you” for choosing me. The disarming comment, as New York's Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan later described it, “brought the house down.”

Obama and Netanyahu agree: No Israeli strike on Iran without US assent
DEBKAfile Special Report March 20, 2013
In his first conversation of three hours with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Day One, March 20, of US President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel, the two leaders finally put to rest their long dispute over a unilateral Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear sites. In their news conference that night, both reiterated the principle that Israel has the right to independently defend itself against a perceived palpable threat from Iran - even if Washington does not share that perception. The practical application of this principle was rather different: Obama and Netanyahu spoke highly and repeatedly of the close military and intelligence cooperation their governments had developed and which they would hate above all to jeopardize. Obama: “There’s not much daylight between us on where Iran is at. Israel is differently situated than us. I would not expect Israel to defer to anyone in its decisions on this.” Netanyahu: “We do have a common intelligence assessment on this. Although the US and Israel have different vulnerabilities and capabilities… there is no argument… I am absolutely convinced that Obama is committed to preventing Iran obtaining a nuclear bomb.” He added: “Iran has not yet reached the red line I defined in my UN speech, but it is getting closer all the time.”
The impression they both conveyed was that Israel’s right to strike Iran would be respected but not pursued without prior consultation with Washington.
In return for this concession, the US president pledged to deepen US military assistance – hardware, funding and technology - for maintaining its qualitative military edge so as to be able to defend itself in the future as well as the present: He disclosed he had set up a team to work on extending the US military assistance program to Israel for a further 10-year period beyond the date of its expiry in 2017.
Following the reports of a chemical attack in Syria and a Syrian air strike inside Lebanon this week, neither Obama nor Netanyahu showed any inclination toward possible military intervention for containing the expansion of the civil conflict raging there, although the US president did use some strong words.
Having ordered a thorough inquiry into the reported chemical attack, he said: “If true, it would be a game changer and there will be consequences,” adding: “When you let that genie out of the bottle - a weapon that can cause mass devastation and death - you have to act on the information. I would be deeply skeptical of any claim that the Syrian opposition used chemical weapons.”
By the time the experts determine the nature of the chemical attack and who was responsible, the dust will have settled, say DEBKAfile's military sources.
Facing the two leaders from the press seats were also top US and Israeli officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon. Kerry will be handling the Palestinian side of the Obama visit after the president’s side trip to Ramallah Thursday to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Referring to peace talks with the Palestinians, the president stressed that “Israel’s security is non-negotiable” and must be assured in any peace settlement that established a sovereign Palestinian state. Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution based on mutual recognition and called on the Palestinians to set aside their preconditions and sit down to discuss ending their conflict once and for all.
The Obama visit has evidently not generated any major moves on the Palestinian issue but will result in small Israeli-Palestinian steps for strengthening stable Palestinian Authority rule over the West Bank under Mahmoud Abbas’s leadership. The PA’s institutions and security institutions will be strengthened and US funds directed to pulling the Palestinian economy out of its hole. Abbas is expected to reciprocate by suspending anti-Israeli actions at the UN and international institutions.

Obama pledges ‘eternal’ alliance with Israel, says all Iran options on table
March 21, 2013/Daily Star
JERUSALEM: President Barack Obama’s first Middle East tour, since he won the second term, started with the long-awaited visit to Israel Wednesday where he pledged an “eternal” alliance with the Jewish state.
During his three-day visit, Obama will also hold talks in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and travel to Jordan before returning home Saturday.
Eager to reassure an anxious ally, Obama promised to work closely with Israel and do whatever was necessary to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, “the world’s worst weapons.”
Obama, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said of Iran’s nuclear ambitions: “We prefer to resolve this diplomatically and there is still time to do so.” But he added that “all options are on the table” if diplomacy falls short. “The question is, will Iranian leadership seize that opportunity,” he added. The president said Iran’s past behavior indicates that “we can’t even trust yet, much less verify.”
Netanyahu, at Obama’s side for a joint news conference, said that while he appreciated U.S. efforts to thwart Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons through diplomacy and sanctions, those tools “must be augmented by a clear and credible threat of military action.”“I am absolutely convinced that the president is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “I appreciate that. I appreciate the fact that the president has reaffirmed, more than any other president, Israel’s right and duty to defend itself by itself against any threat.”
The Israeli leader said that he and Obama agree that it would take Iran about a year to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Obama said there is “not a lot of light, a lot of daylight” between the two leaders in intelligence assessments about Iran, and Netanyahu concurred.
Although preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is a priority of both Israel and the United States, Netanyahu and Obama have differed on precisely how to achieve that.
Israel repeatedly has threatened to take military action should Iran appear to be on the verge of obtaining a bomb. The U.S. has pushed for more time to allow diplomacy and economic penalties to run their course, though Obama insists military action is an option.
Obama also took note of the difficult way forward in the broader quest for Middle East peace, acknowledging that in recent years “we haven’t gone forward, we haven’t seen the kind of progress that we would like to see.”
The president said he came to the region principally to listen, and hoped to return home with a better understanding of the constraints and “how the U.S. can play a constructive role.”
Netanyahu, for his part, said he was willing to set aside preconditions in future talks with the Palestinians, adding that it was time to “turn a page in our relations.”
Obama’s visit to Israel, from the start, has been designed to send a message of reassurance to a key ally. At an extravagant welcoming ceremony, Obama sounded a message that “peace must come to the Holy Land” and that such a goal could not be achieved at Israel’s expense. U.S. backing for Israel will be a constant as the Middle East roils with revolution and Iran continues work on its nuclear program, he said.
“The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend,” Obama said after landing at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. He called his visit “an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our nations, to restate America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, and to speak directly to the people of Israel and to your neighbors.”Seeking to alter a perception among many Israelis that his government had been less supportive than previous U.S. administrations, Obama declared the U.S.-Israeli alliance “eternal.”
“It is forever,” he said to applause as Israeli and U.S. flags fluttered in a steady breeze under clear, sunny skies. Even before leaving the airport for Jerusalem, Obama offered a vivid display of the U.S. commitment to Israeli security by visiting a missile battery that is part of Israel’s Iron Dome defense from militant rocket attacks. Netanyahu, who sparred frequently with Obama over the course of the U.S. president’s first term, praised the president.
“Thank you for standing by Israel at this time of historic change in the Middle East,” he said. “Thank you for unequivocally affirming Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself by itself against any threat.”
Thursday, Obama plans to speak to Israeli university students and again renew U.S. security pledges as Israel seeks to counter threats from Iran.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, Obama will assure Abbas that an independent Palestinian state remains a U.S. foreign policy and national security priority. As Israelis warmly greeted Obama, Palestinians held several small protests in the West Bank and Gaza.
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At Least Twenty Killed in Suicide Bombing on Christian Neighborhood in Nigeria
Boko Haram Suspected of Targeting Chritians at Bus Station
3/20/2013 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that at least twenty people have been killed by a series of bombings targeting buses in a predominately Christian neighborhood of Nigeria's northern city of Kano. The official death toll is expected to rise as security officials continue to examine the scene of Monday's attack.
Officials suspect the series of explosions were likely initiated by suicide bombers, but investigators are still collecting evidence to confirm that theory. Because the attacks took place in a predominately Christian area of Kano, most officials suspect Christians were the target of the attack.
According to initial reports by the African Free Press, two suicide bombers rammed a car laden with explosives into a bus parked at the New Road station in Sabon Gari, a predominately Christian neighborhood of Kano. A series of explosions followed the initial blast as bystanders fled the scene.
Speaking to the African Free Press on condition of anonymity, a rescue official said, "I saw three buses on fire. One of them was fully loaded with passengers waiting to leave the station at the time of the blasts."
According to the Mali and Guardian, senior security officials say the death toll is likely to rise in the wake of the attack, estimating the death toll to be "massive" and describing twenty as an "understatement." Officials still haven't given a precise death toll.
Boko Haram, an Islamic extremist group, is suspected to be behind the bombings, but the group has yet to take responsibility. Since 2009, Boko Haram has been engaged in an armed insurgency in Nigeria's northern states, attempting to carve out a separate Islamic state where it can institute its radical brand of Sharia law.
As part of Boko Haram's bloody campaign, the group has targeted the Christian minority living in Nigeria's northern states by perpetrating suicide bombings at churches and killing Christians in their homes. These acts of terror are meant to drive all Christians out of northern Nigeria so Boko Haram may create a purely Islamic society.

Muslims attack Christians in Egypt’s south over allegations that girl was abducted

By Associated Press, Mar 19, 2013
ASSIUT, Egypt — Hundreds of Muslim villagers in Egypt’s south have attacked Christian-owned stores in search of a girl whose family claims was abducted. The villagers assaulted the stores Tuesday and surrounded two churches in the city of al-Wasta in Bani Suef province in Egypt’s south. Security forces guarded the churches. No casualties were reported. The college-aged girl disappeared around one month ago. The crowd accused local Christian of kidnapping her.
Bani Suef’s prosecutor, Hamdi Farouk, said there was no reason to believe Christians were involved in her disappearance.
Security chief Ibrahim Hudeib said the girl left her house with her gold and passport in hand and may have fled with a local Muslim boy.
Past clashes have been sparked by rumors of conversion, Muslim-Christian love affairs and the construction of churches.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Why do Arab Nations Fail?
Written by : Adel Al Toraifi/Asharq Alawsat
Last year James Robinson and Daron Acemoğlu, two American academics, released a book entitled “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty” (Crown Business, 2012). The book received widespread coverage, and was praised by major European and American newspapers, becoming one of the bestsellers in the US market.
However, the commercial success of the book suddenly collided with critical responses from prominent names in academic and economic spheres. Bill Gates—founder of Microsoft—criticized the book’s scientific methodology, claiming that it lacked accurate definitions and valid examples. But what really angered Gates, apparently, was him being likened to billionaire Mexican Carlos Slim, considering this to be an unfair comparison. Gates contended that Microsoft had never engineered a monopoly in its history, and thus could not be compared Slim’s company “Telmex”, which controls 90 percent of the fixed-line telephone market in Mexico.
Gates also criticized the two authors’ depiction of Slim when describing him as an opportunist benefiting from weak competition laws, considering this description to be unfair.
Positive and negative reactions to the book continued throughout the year. One of the most prominent was provided by Jeffrey Sachs, a well-known economist at Columbia University, who described the book’s arguments and examples as simplistic, misleading, and wrong in a lot of cases (Government, Geography, and Growth: The True Drivers of Economic Development, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2012).
In turn, the reaction of the two authors was that Gates was ‘ignorant’ when it comes to academic affairs, and Sachs was angry because the book refuted his theory about “The End of Poverty”. So what is the importance of this debate? And what it its relationship to the Arab region?
The above discussion may seem elitist, but in fact it reflects what is happening around the world today with severe economic crises plaguing European and Asian countries alike, regardless of the ruling regimes or economic models in place. This is not only what makes this an important debate for the Arab region; it is also because the authors cite what happened in Tunisia and Egypt in the book, and whether the gamble on the “freedom” that came with the Arab Spring will necessarily bring about prosperity for those countries.
The main idea of the book is that prosperity and economic growth depend on inclusive political institutions, which lead towards the emergence of a pluralistic political system that protects individual rights. This in turn, leads to the creation of economic institutions believing in private ownership and encouraging investment, and giving opportunities to all. The result, in the long term, is to increase income and improve human welfare.
According to Robinson and Acemoğlu, the theories that attribute the failure of nations to cultural or geographic reasons, or other such factors, are in fact an expression of the symptoms and manifestations associated with failure, but they do not express the reasons behind a country’s failure economically and developmentally.
The authors argue that there are two prerequisites for economic prosperity: First, there must be a coup against the beneficiary political elite exercising a monopoly over economic opportunities and disrupting free competition. Second, freedom and the equitable distribution of political rights are the only guarantee for social and security stability, which in turn are necessary for economic prosperity. The authors put forward several examples to illustrate what they are talking about, perhaps the most notable being Egypt before 25 January 2011. The country at this time, according to the authors, was a victim of a small social elite and its monopolization of political and economic opportunities under the leadership of an elderly military dictator.
In the past, there were socialist institutions and populist policies such as the nationalization of the private sector and the distribution of land during the era of Gamal Abdul Nasser, and this—as the authors argue—provided an institutional balance to some degree. However, the openness during Sadat’s era, the reduction of political freedom in the decades that followed, and the privatization drive that ultimately rendered public sector institutions redundant, eliminated the partnership between the authority and the elite, and thus a clash occurred. It is strange that the authors accuse major business figures of benefiting from the Egyptian regime, such as the well-known Sawiris family, despite the fact that one of its members, Naguib Sawiris, was an ardent supporter of the demonstrations at the time.
With regards to the countries of the Arab Spring as a whole, the authors believe that the main common factor between Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria is that there is a political elite that uses its influence for the distribution of economic resources in its favor. Ultimately, those who had been deprived for decades erupted in anger in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. But is the absence or presence of inclusive institutions the sole cause of poverty and wealth?
All indicators point to the contrary. This is not a defense of the regimes that have fallen or those that will fall, but rather a simple fact, because the current models refute this argument.
India is a long-standing democracy, with institutions of a populist-socialist nature and active trade unions, while China is an undemocratic country, ruled by a party consisting of the rich and dominant elite. The volume of China’s economic growth over the past three decades is 9.8 percent, while India’s does not exceed 6 percent. With regards to the growth of per capita income and the decline in poverty rates, the Chinese example is superior to its Indian counterpart, as there are twice as many living in poverty in India than there are in China.
In the Arab world, Robinson and Acemoğlu’s argument may satisfy the liberal left, which advocates individual freedoms, but the reality reveals that individual and public freedoms have declined in all Arab countries without exception since the Arab Spring. It is true that elections were conducted in a fairly even manner among the candidates, but the power that was previously concentrated in the hands of the military elite has now been transferred into the hands of the religious elite—fundamentalist leaders and parties—who won it democratically. Furthermore, it is hard to say that Libya, which did not have any institutions, failed for the same reasons as Egypt, which at least had a minimal degree of independent institutional work.
I think that the main element of weakness in the liberal left’s argument, including Robinson and Acemoğlu’s book, which is based on a structural understanding of democracy and civil rights, is that these visions do not see the complex system of ideas behind, or the cultural or historical particulars of certain communities. The left assumes that anyone who raises the banner of “freedom” or demands “democratic elections” in their country must be supported in their confrontation with the ruling elite, forgetting that conflicts between groups, parties, and sects often reflect religious and historical residues. They have nothing to do with the existence of democratic institutions or the establishment of regular elections.
The problem of the Western liberal left, and those influenced by it in the Arab region, is a lack of understanding of “power”, or at least a misunderstanding of it, because they assume that it is an impartial tool that is only exploited by the bad guys.
The issue is much more complicated than that. Iraq, for example, is currently marking ten years since the overthrow of the odious Ba’athist regime. Within that timeframe the country has established regular elections and democratic and constitutional institutions, but we cannot say today that Iraq is a democratic country, because titles and electoral mechanisms do not necessarily make people democrats. The liberal left’s problem is that it assumes that the Western democratic model is the only criterion for prosperity. However, there were those in the Arab Spring states who called for the Western model, but it has since transpired that the freedoms it is supposed to protect may not actually materialize. Institutions are important and vital, but alone they cannot make the difference.
Overall we can say clearly that the Arab states and others fail because of multiple, overlapping reasons. At the same time, the complex issue includes cultural, historical, economic, and even geographical aspects, whether inclusive institutions are present or not.

President Michel Sleiman to Damascus: Army confirmed Syrian attack
March 20, 2013 /By Van Meguerditchian/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman slammed Tuesday Syrian airstrikes that targeted Lebanese territories earlier this week and said the Army confirmed the attacks took place.A few hours after Damascus denied reports that its jets fired rockets into Lebanon Monday, Sleiman told reporters in Lagos, Nigeria, that he verified the accuracy of the reports by holding multiple contacts with security officials.“We heard Syria’s denial regarding the airstrikes, but Lebanese Army officials confirmed that the attack did take place,” said Sleiman, who added that the violation of the country’s sovereignty was “unacceptable.”
“President Michel Sleiman considers the Syrian air bombardment of Lebanese territory an unacceptable violation of sovereignty,” said a statement from Baabda Palace. While the government has yet to confirm where and when Syrian jets and helicopters fired rockets at targets inside Lebanon earlier this week, the international community has condemned Damascus for the attack.
For its part, Damascus denied Tuesday that it had fired rockets inside Lebanon and said that such reports were part of a smear campaign by countries that fund the Syrian rebels. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency, an official at the Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry denied the reports of airstrikes, describing them as “false and completely baseless.”
“The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry reaffirms its respect for Lebanese sovereignty and keenness on the security and stability of friendly Lebanon,” SANA quoted the official saying. The U.S. State Department also confirmed Monday that rockets were fired into northern Lebanon and said the move signaled a significant escalation in Syria’s tendency to violate of its neighbor’s sovereignty.
France also said the attack was a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Syrian jets and helicopters fired four rockets hitting empty buildings inside Lebanon Monday, days after Damascus warned officials in Beirut it would attack suspected rebel sites if incursions from across the border did not stop.
The rockets hit the Arsal villages of Khirbet Youneen and Wadi al-Khayl in the Bekaa Valley, located approximately 5 kilometers away from the Syrian border. No casualties were reported in the attacks.
Sleiman also tasked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with issuing a letter of complaint to Damascus to prevent the recurrence of similar attacks.
But Mansour, who is accompanying Sleiman on his trip to West Africa, cast doubt on reports that Syrian jets fired rockets inside Lebanon and told reporters in Lagos that an investigation would be required to uncover more details before taking any measures.
In a separate interview with NBN television, Mansour said he was unable to issue a letter of complaint to Damascus because he touring Africa.
“Issuing such a complaint requires documents that I currently don’t have with me. I need to return to Lebanon to be able to work on it,” Mansour said.
Earlier this month, Mansour quarreled with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Sleiman over his controversial remarks that Syria be reinstated in the Arab League, during the league’s meeting for foreign ministers in Cairo. The Future Movement condemned the attacks in Arsal and criticized Damascus for continuing to violate the country’s sovereignty.
After a weekly bloc meeting at former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s residence in Downtown Beirut, the Future Movement slammed the government’s silence on the attacks and failure to inform the public about the events. “While the bloc praises President Michel Sleiman’s stance and his defense of the country’s sovereignty and national dignity, it is surprised over the government’s silence, inability to condemn and take the necessary measures in response,” said the bloc’s statement that was read by Beirut MP Atef Majdalani.
“It is surprising that the Defense Ministry has not provided the people with information about the attacks, as if the incident took place in a another country that only foreign governments have issued statements about,” he said.
The group also said that Syria’s violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty had reached a tipping point and now required officials to formally file complaints to the Arab League and the U.N.
“It is crucial to take immediate initiative and file complaints to the Arab League and the United Nations regarding the violations of the Syrian regime ... to inform them of criminal acts such as the one plotted by Michel Samaha,” Majdalani added.

Contacts in Lebanon resume to agree on electoral law after Rome talks
March 20, 2013/By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Discussions will resume Wednesday in order to reach consensus on a new electoral law after Lebanon’s speaker, prime minister and Maronite patriarch agreed on a three-point-plan to break the deadlock during meetings in Rome. Political sources told The Daily Star that the plan stipulates holding elections based on a draft electoral law proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri that calls for electing 64 MPs based on proportional representation and another 64 under a winner-takes-all system. A senate would be established, allowing every sect to elect its own representatives, and a new government would be formed to supervise elections.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai is to hold a meeting with head of the Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Kataeb chief Amin Gemayel and Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh soon in order to gain their support for the proposal. For his part, Berri, who returned to Beirut Tuesday night, will try to convince Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt to agree to the plan.
But a senior March 8 source downplayed the Rome talks, saying no breakthrough was achieved. Sejaan Azzi, deputy-head of Kataeb, said his party had no “official information” about the talks in Rome. “I believe there is exaggeration in the significance of what happened in Rome. We believe that an agreement on an electoral law should be reached between Lebanese leaders in Lebanon,” Azzi said. He added that Rai contacted Gemayel Monday and informed him about his intention to convene a meeting of Christian political leaders. Similarly, Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam said his party still had no official stance on the outcome of the meetings in Rome.
The Future bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri discussed “ideas leaked” from Rome during its weekly meeting and said “it adheres to holding elections on time, based on a law that is in line with the Constitution and does not violate coexistence.” “Based on these principles, [the bloc] announces its readiness to discuss proposed draft laws that contribute to emerging out of this crisis, on the condition that they provide fair representation ... and respect the Taif Accord,” a statement said.The bloc reiterated that an initiative proposed by Hariri in January, which calls for holding parliamentary elections based on a winner-takes-all system law with Lebanon divided into small districts, represents a comprehensive solution. Hariri’s plan also calls for the establishment of a senate where sects are represented.
Commenting on the Rome meetings, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said he was unaware of the results of the discussions: “A consensus draft law was not presented to us.”
Aoun reiterated his support for the Orthodox proposal, saying that it, along with one that would adopt all of Lebanon as a single district under proportional representation, is in line with the National Pact. Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman highlighted the need to hold elections on time and under a new electoral law. “We should not think at all of not holding it [elections],” said Sleiman, addressing a delegation from the Lebanese-Nigerian Initiative Association in Lagos. “Others are fighting now to hold elections and have democracy and we are fighting in order to postpone them.”
Sleiman said he supported proportional representation, saying it allowed more than one group within every sect to be represented democratically in Parliament.
Batroun MP Butros Harb expressed hope that talks between Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Rai in Rome could resolve the ongoing crisis.
“However ... the problem lies in the fact that the March 8 coalition is standing firm on its stance: Either the Orthodox proposal or a law that adopts Lebanon as one district under proportional representation, or there is no solution,” Harb told reporters at his residence in Hazmieh after meeting independent Christian lawmakers from the March 14 coalition. “These are two contradictory proposals.”

Miqati Instructs Mansour to Follow Up Syrian Shelling along Lebanese Border
Naharnet/Prime Minister Najib Miqati tasked on Wednesday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with following up the Syrian bombardment of Lebanese border towns. “The army is taking the necessary measures to control the border with the neighboring country,” Information Minister Walid Daouq quoted Miqati as saying after a cabinet session held at the Grand Serail. Daouq told reporters that security agencies confirmed that Syrian forces are carrying out airstrikes in Lebanese territories. President Michel Suleiman instructed Mansour on Tuesday to send a message of protest to the “Syrian side” so that such operations are not repeated.
He also condemned Syria for carrying out the "unacceptable" air strikes. But Damascus, in its first comments on the attacks, denied it was involved. Miqati also denounced during Wednesday's cabinet session the repeated Israeli violation to Lebanon's airspace. On Monday, Israeli aircraft released scarlet heat balloons over Lebanon's regional waters, in the first such violation in around a year. Israel has escalated its flights over Lebanon in recent weeks. On the assault against four Dar al-Fatwa clerics, Miqati described the incident as “shameful,” hailing the swift reaction by security forces to control the situation in the street. Two sheikhs were assaulted on Sunday in Beirut's Khandaq al-Ghamiq area, while another two were attacked in its Shiyyah neighborhood. The assault led to road closures in Beirut and other cities for on Sunday and Monday.
Protesters blocked the roads with garbage bins and burning tires, inflaming old tensions already boiling over the conflict in Syria. Seven people have so far been arrested over links to the attack and investigations are ongoing to uncover their accomplices. “Most of the political leaders condemned the incident, which stresses the importance of halting the strong rhetoric and the resumption of the national dialogue,” Daouq quoted the premier as saying.
Lebanon plunged in a political crisis in October after the opposition blamed the government for the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan.
The March 14 opposition alliance boycotted dialogue despite President Michel Suleiman's extensive efforts to resume talks between the rival factions. The last dialogue session was held on September 20. Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Assad, while the March 14 camp backs the popular revolt. The international community and analysts have expressed fears that the conflict in Syria may spill over into Lebanon. Source/Agence France Presse

One Killed in Tripoli Clashes after Shooting Erupts at Hospital
Naharnet /A man was killed on Wednesday by gunshots during armed clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, LBCI television reported. “A man who hails from (Tripoli's area of) Jabal Mohsen was killed after he received a gunshot in his head in the city's al-Mouhajirin street,” it detailed, while MTV noted that his name is Talal Azaya. Clashes erupted in the city after a shootout broke out earlier on Wednesday at the Qobbeh government hospital. The hospital's incident was soon followed by the emergence of gunmen in the area between the Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen and shells were also dropped in the region.
Taher Mohsen Jadeed and his brothers Youssef and Mehdi were wounded in the hospital shootout, reported OTV. MTV said that five people were injured in the incident, which was prompted by a sectarian dispute. The shooting was soon followed by the emergence of the gunmen near Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). It confirmed that the armed presence near the two neighborhoods was linked to the hospital shooting. It added that the army soon blocked the roads that witnessed clashes in Tripoli in the past, including the Talaat al-Omari and Syria streets, as well as the Baqqar area. LBCI television later reported that an Inerga-type rocket landed on Syria street in Tripoli. The National News Agency said three hand grenades were hurled in Tripoli's al-Tabbaneh region. MTV elaborated: "A bomb exploded in Bab al-Qamh and two Energa-type rifle-launched grenades were hurled in Tripoli's Syria street." The TV channel added that ten people resulted wounded from these clashes, and were transferred to al-Saydeh hospital in the northern city of Zgharta for treatment. The spokesman for the Arab Democratic Party Abdul Latif Saleh told LBCI: “The two injured men at the al-Qobbah hospital are military personnel and the army has transferred them to al-Saydeh hospital in Zgharta for treatment.” Later on Wednesday evening, the Army Command issued a statement detailing the measures it has adopted to restore calm in the northern city: “Our forces have raided locations from which the gunshots were fired and several men have been arrested for being involved in the clashes.” “Army patrols have also erected several checkpoints in the region.” These developments came shortly after the assault against four Dar al-Fatwa sheikhs on Sunday in the Beirut neighborhoods of Shiyyah and Khandaq al-Ghamiq. Tensions were also high in Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen over a dispute at a vegetable market on Saturday. Gunshots were heard in Jabal Mohsen soon after the dispute.

3 Dead as Bus and Truck Collide North of Beirut
Naharnet/Three people were killed on Wednesday when a passenger bus collided with a truck on al-Bouar highway, north of Beirut, the Lebanese Red Cross and the National News Agency said. The three were instantly killed when the bus with Syrian license plates hurtled into the truck, NNA said. Red Cross official George Kettaneh said five people were injured and that four of them were in critical condition. NNA said 11 passengers escaped unharmed from the accident. The impact of the crash left the front of the bus a mangled wreck.Red Cross ambulances rushed the wounded to hospitals in the area while the police worked on organizing traffic, NNA added.

Geagea Says Resignation of Cabinet Priority, Reveals Hybrid Electoral Law Ready
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader MP Samir Geagea lashed out on Wednesday at the cabinet for its failure to carry out its tasks, revealing that the March 14 hybrid electoral law is almost ready.“The resignation of the cabinet and the electoral law are our priorities,”' Geagea said in an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper. He pointed out that the cabinet's resignation “will be considered as an accomplishment as it failed to deal with all the security incidents storming the country... The government even failed to make up its mind regarding the referral of the new wage scale for public employees to the parliament.”
The controversial new salary scale has deepened the gap between the cabinet and the Syndicate Coordination Committee, which has been holding an open-ended strike for the past month.
The government argues that it's mulling the sources to fund the salary hike to safeguard the economy from any repercussion. Asked about the delicate security situation, Geagea denounced the recent assault against Dar al-Fatwa clerics, saying: “Its a insidious endeavor that aims at creating a Sunni-Shiite strife.” He noted that those behind the incident will repeat it, slamming the cabinet for not holding an urgent session to resolve the matter.
On Sunday night two Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran were assaulted while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq.
Another two clerics, one of them identified as Sheikh Omar al-Imami, were assaulted in the southern suburb of Shiyyah. Tensions soared in the wake of the two attacks as angry protesters blocked roads in several regions across Lebanon. Geagea said that the incident is similar to the case of ex-Minister Michel Samaha, who was accused along with Syrian security official Ali Mamlouk with planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Lebanon.
"The remnants of (Syrian President Bashar) Assad regime aim at provoking sedition in Lebanon,” Geagea considered, calling on the judiciary to carry out the investigation to reveal the real culprits behind the incident. Geagea also urged the state to end the spread of arms across Lebanon, in particular in the northern city of Tripoli that witnessed over the weekend clashes between the neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.
The city has witnessed repeated armed clashes in recent months due to tensions between the rival neighborhoods over the situation in the neighboring country Syria.
Concerning the situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border, Geagea said that the state rejects the deployment of the army along the border so that “Hizbullah would be able to freely help the Syrian (regime).”
On Tuesday, President Michel Suleiman tasked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with sending a letter of protest to Syria over staging air raids in the northeastern border area that violated Lebanese sovereignty.
Lebanese parties are sharply divided over the crisis in Syria as the March 8 alliance continuously expresses its support to Assad, while the March 14 camp backs the popular revolt.
The international community and analysts have expressed fears that the conflict in Syria may spill over into Lebanon.
Concerning the controversy over the new electoral law, Geagea revealed that contacts are ongoing between his party, Speaker Nabih Berri, the Phalange party and al-Mustaqbal to reach common ground over the issue.
The hybrid draft-law combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems but the main obstacle to a deal among the different blocs lies in the division of districts.
Geagea said that the hybrid electoral law proposed by al-Mustaqbal and the PSP is similar to the one suggested by Berri, noting that the only difference is in the division of seats.
The speaker insists on the election of half of the MPs under the winner-takes-all system and the remaining half under the proportional representation system, while the PSP is insisting on allowing 70 percent of candidates to be chosen under the first system and 30 percent under the second system.
Concerning Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's rejection to any hybrid electoral law, Geagea said that Berri should be communicating with Aoun and Hizbullah over the matter,
“Aoun doesn't know yet the details of the proposal to rejects it... The draft-law provides Christians with their rights,” the Christian leader said.
A consensus over an electoral law has yet to be reached after the Orthodox Gathering's proposal that considers Lebanon a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, was opposed by President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, al-Mustaqbal bloc, the PSP, and the independent Christian MPs of the March 14 opposition.
They argue that the proposal harms the social fabric and increases sectarian tension.
“The 1960 law (which is based on winner-takes-all system) is over so is the proposal to adopt Lebanon as one district based on proportional representation,” Geagea said.
Suleiman and the premier have signed a decree that sets the elections on June 9 based on the 1960 law that was used in the 2009 polls over the lack of agreement between the bickering parliamentary blocs.
Their call have drawn the ire of the March 8 majority coalition and several March 14 parties.
Geagea expressed hope that the rival parties would agree on an electoral law to carry out the elections even if it was postponed “technically,” as any political vacuum will put the country at risk.

March 14 Petition to Urge Berri for Session to Extend Terms of Rifi, Qahwaji
Naharnet/The March 14 alliance is seeking signatures on a parliamentary petition to urge Speaker Nabih Berri to call for an urgent session to discuss and approve a draft-law that extends the retirement age of officers in leadership posts in security agencies amid a strong opposition by the Free Patriotic movement. According to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, the opposition is pressing the extension of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji to safeguard the country. Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat told the newspaper that he signed the petition, voicing his support to it. The Druze leader said that the security situation is critical, calling on officials not to leave the posts of Qahwaji and Rifi vacant. Al-Mustaqbal MP Ammar Houri told AS Safir newspaper that the petition will be handed over to Berri soon. “The parliamentary session that the speaker will call for will only be to approve the urgent draft-law,” Houri said. The tenure of Qahwaji and Rifi ends on April 1.
Houri pointed out that the petition is to safeguard the country from the impact of vacant posts of head of security agencies during the “critical” situation in the country. “We need to take preventive measures as the cabinet is weaker and incapable of approving simple appointments,” Houri said. For his part, Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun, who is loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, rejected the extension proposal.
“It's the governments duty to appoint the successors of the security agencies leaders,” the MP stated. However, the lawmaker said that his bloc is ready to cooperate with the March 14 coalition to discuss the draft-law if the session included an article to tackle the Orthodox Gathering electoral law. Houri described Aoun's proposal as an attempt to obstruct their draft-law. “Our stance from the Orthodox proposal is known.... We shouldn't mix the two matters on the account of security threats,” the MP said. Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Ziad al-Qaderi proposed recently an urgent draft-law to modify the retirement age of officers in leadership posts in the army, the Internal Security Forces and other security agencies. According to the proposal, the age of retirement for Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji will increase to 63 years, while officers with Maj. General rank would be referred to retirement on the age of 62. An agreement is needed between the March 8 majority coalition and the March 14 opposition over the extension proposal as it requires the cabinet to refer a bill to parliament for approval or an urgent draft-law proposed by at least 10 lawmakers to adopt it by an absolute majority.

Cabinet Session Expected to Witness Saber-Rattling on Electoral Authority
Naharnet /Divisions between cabinet members on several controversial issues are likely to exacerbate on Thursday over the formation of the authority that would supervise the elections, which is rejected by the Hizbullah-led majority. A cabinet session that is set to be held at Baabda palace could either witness a last minute deal to form the authority or March 8 majority ministers could vote against it if President Michel Suleiman insisted on putting it up to vote. But any such scenario could force Suleiman to suspend his participation in cabinet sessions along with the ministers loyal to him.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the ministers loyal to Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat could join him, bringing the government to a standstill.
March 8 rejects the formation of the authority for fears that it would lead to holding the polls based on the 1960 law, which it opposes.
But Suleiman argues that the body should be established in line with the constitutional deadline given that rival parties have so far failed to agree on a new electoral draft-law.
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi is expected to refer to the cabinet a report by the Higher Committee for Consultations on the legality of the authority's formation.
According to An Nahar daily, two out of six members advised the formation of the authority based on the 1960, which they considered valid, while three members stressed that the law can no longer be implemented.
The sixth member had no opinion on the matter, An Nahar said.
Despite the conflicting stances, the March 8 majority will likely emerge victorious in its battle against the government's centrists after garnering four voices - including that of Qortbawi who heads the committee - against the formation of the authority. But ministerial sources warned in remarks to An Nahar that the country would end up in chaos if the rival sides failed to agree on a new vote law and the 1960 was considered void.
Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun blamed the failure to reach consensus on the new law on both the opposition al-Mustaqbal movement and the centrist Progressive Socialist Party of MP Walid Jumblat.
He told As Safir newspaper that they should exert efforts in the right direction.
The Change and Reform bloc and three other Christian parties have approved the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal that considers Lebanon a single district and allows each side to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system. The plan has also garnered the approval of the joint parliamentary committees despite the rejection of al-Mustaqbal, the PSP and the March 14 opposition alliance's Christian independent MPs.Asked about the procrastination in agreeing on a new electoral law, Jumblat told As Safir that he hoped for consensus on a law that would appease all sides.
He didn't provide further details. But al-Mustaqbal bloc sources said that a joint PSP-Mustaqbal plan on a hybrid draft-law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems was almost complete.
Speaker Nabih Berri has given the rival blocs time to agree on a vote law before calling for a parliamentary session to approve the Orthodox Gathering proposal.

Islamic Endowment Calls on HIC Nominees to Submit Candidacy by Thursday
Naharnet /The general directorate of Islamic Endowments called on nominees, who want to run for the membership of the Higher Islamic Council, to submit their candidacy by Thursday. The general directorate pointed out on Wednesday that the elections will be held on April 14 at 11:00 a.m. according to Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani's decision.The dispute over the HIC elections deepened amid increasing tension between Prime Minister Najib Miqati, former premiers and Qabbani. Qabbani transferred managerial duties at Dar al-Fatwa to religious scholars over the weekend after Miqati and other former PMs urged him to convene the 32-member Council before March 16 to set a date for electing a new body. The Mufti had been refusing to convene a Council meeting for considering that its term had expired. Despite his objections, 21 members of the council, who are close to al-Mustaqbal movement, extended in December the body’s term until the end of 2013. The Mufti's ties with al-Mustaqbal deteriorated in 2011 when he met with a delegation from Hizbullah the same day the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicted four party members in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's February 2005 assassination. Relations between the two sides were also shaken when the mufti met with Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali, whom al-Mustaqbal and the March 14 opposition alliance have on several occasions said should be expelled.

Madi: Attacks against Dar al-Fatwa Sheikhs Not Politically Driven
Naharnet /General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi stated on Wednesday that the assaults against the Dar al-Fatwa clerics in Beirut's Shiyyah and Khandaq al-Ghamiq neighborhoods are not related.
He said in a statement: “Based on the investigations conducted by the army intelligence and under my supervision, the attacks were not prompted by political or factional motives.” “The attacks were the result of the tensions in the country,” he explained. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether the seven arrested suspects have any other accomplices, Madi added in his statement. The General Prosecutor ordered on Tuesday the arrest of seven people suspected of involvement in attacks on four Sunni sheikhs on Sunday. Four of them are suspected of involvement in the assault on Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran on Sunday in the Shiite area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq in Beirut. The remaining three are suspected of attacking two other sheikhs, one of them identified as Omar al-Imami, in the Beirut suburb of Shiyyah.
Army intelligence sources told As Safir newspaper Tuesday that the two incidents in Khandaq al-Ghamiq and Shiyyah were not linked. The perpetrators of the Khandaq al-Ghamiq assault are part of a “bigger network linked to other operations aimed at creating instability,” the sources said, without giving further details.The assault on the clerics led to road closures in Beirut and other cities for the second day Monday. Protesters blocked the roads with garbage bins and burning tires, inflaming old tensions already boiling over the conflict in Syria.

Judge al-Zain Issues Arrest Warrants Against Qaida Suspects
Naharnet/Military Examining Magistrate Imad al-Zain issued on Wednesday arrest warrants against two al-Qaida suspects for preparing homemade explosives, the state-run National News Agency said. NNA identified the two suspects with their initials as S.D and S.A. It said the men were involved in the transportation in northern Lebanon of chemicals and explosive devices used in bomb-making. One of them, who is an inmate at Roumieh prison, is suspected of communicating with wanted criminals at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in the South to secure the bombing devices, NNA added. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves. Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees who live in dire conditions and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives. Also Wednesday, a Syrian identified as Marwan Qassem was arrested by the Lebanese army in Ras al-Ain near the eastern city of Baalbek for smuggling arms, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported. NNA said Qassem was in his white Hyundai when the arrest was made.

March 14: Complaint Must Be Filed at U.N. over Syria's Violations against Lebanon
Naharnet/The March 14 General Secretariat accused on Wednesday the Syrian regime of seeking to create strife and unrest in Lebanon, the most recent of these attempts were the attacks against the Dar al-Fatwa clerics in Beirut on Sunday. It demanded in a statement after its weekly meeting that a “complaint be filed at the United Nations Security Council to protest the Syrian regime's ongoing violations of Lebanon's sovereignty, especially after its jets shelled Lebanese territory.” “The attack is a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, Arab League treaties, and international resolutions, especially resolution 1559,” it added.
Syrian warplanes hit on Monday targets along Syria's border with Lebanon. The National News Agency said the attack targeted a remote area near the northeastern town of Arsal. Mortar and artillery shells from the Syrian side often explode in Lebanon. Given these latest developments, the March 14 General Secretariat praised President Michel Suleiman's positions and his order to Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour “to take the necessary diplomatic measures, which entail the summoning of the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali, to make the Syrian regime answer to its acts.”It therefore reiterated its demand that the Lebanese army deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border, with support from the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1701.Moreover, it said: “The assault against the Dar al-Fatwa clerics is an attack against the authority of the state and the safety of its people.”The case should be referred to the judicial council, it demanded. Furthermore, the March 14 General Secretariat urged the state to perform its duties in putting an end to such “suspicious practices.”Two sheikhs were assaulted on Sunday in Beirut's Khandaq al-Ghamiq area, while another two were attacked in its Shiyyah neighborhood.The assault led to road closures in Beirut and other cities for on Sunday and Monday. Protesters blocked the roads with garbage bins and burning tires, inflaming old tensions already boiling over the conflict in Syria.Seven people have so far been arrested over links to the attack and investigations are ongoing to uncover their accomplices.

Syrian Shells Land in Lebanese Border Village
Naharnet /Five Syrian shells landed near a Lebanese border town in the northeast on Wednesday, two days after Syrian air strikes along the border area, the state-run National News Agency reported. NNA said the shells landed on the outskirts of the town of al-Qasr in Hermel district. There was no report of casualties.But a local security services official told Agence France Presse that "around 9:00 am, two shells and a rocket fell on the outskirts of the village of Sahlet al-Ma" that lies near al-Qasr. The area is adjacent to Syria's Homs province, the scene of heavy fighting in recent months between rebels and regime forces.Residents said the missiles had fallen near a stone mill. The shelling came as President Michel Suleiman condemned Syria for carrying out the "unacceptable" air strikes on Monday. He tasked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour with sending a message of protest to “the Syrian side so that such operations are not repeated.” Syria denied it was responsible for the attacks. "The information being peddled by the Lebanese, Arab and international media claiming that Syria fighter jets bombed inside Lebanese territory is baseless," a foreign ministry official told state news agency SANA.However, a high-ranking Lebanese army official confirmed the Syrian air strikes along the border area, without saying whether they had struck inside Lebanese territory. But a security services official on the ground told Agence France Presse that Syrian planes had fired four missiles at Arsal, where many residents back the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Minister of Social Affairs bu Faour Urges Quick Procedures Regarding Military and Security Leaderships
Naharnet/Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abu Faour urged on Wednesday for quick decisions and procedures regarding the leaderships of the military and security institutions “to guarantee the safety of the Lebanese,” reported the state-run National News Agency. “There is imminent need to focus on the security institutions and to do that we should focus on the security and military apparatus mainly the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces,” said Abu Faour after a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri at the latter's residence in Ain el-Tineh. Abu Faour was referring to the tenures of ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji that will end on April 1, amid conflicting stances to either extend their tenure, as per the March 14 alliance, and the refusal of other parties, mainly the Free Patriotic Movement.
“We should speed up the procedures required, specifically in the leadership of the Internal Security Forces to guarantee that the institution is performing its duties to the fullest to ensure the safety of the Lebanese,” added the minister. Voicing concerns on the tense security situation, Abu Faour said: “A basic agreement should be made. We have all seen in the past two days how sedition was moving from street to street. Only the wisdom of political figures redressed it.” The March 14 alliance is seeking signatures on a parliamentary petition to urge Berri to call for an urgent session to discuss and approve a draft-law that extends the retirement age of officers in leadership posts in security agencies amid a strong opposition by the FPM. According to the proposal, the age of retirement of the army commander will increase to 63 years, while officers with the rank of major general rank would be referred to retirement on the age of 62. An agreement is needed between the March 8 majority coalition and the March 14 opposition over the extension proposal as it requires the cabinet to refer a bill to parliament for approval or an urgent draft-law proposed by at least 10 lawmakers to adopt it by an absolute majority.

Berri Stresses No Cover Will Be Provided to Thugs: Rome Talks Need Further Discussion
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri condemned on Wednesday the attack against the four Dar al-Fatwa sheikhs on Sunday, demanding that the harshest of punishments be laid down against the perpetrators.
He said during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at his Ain el-Tineh residence that no cover will be provided to the thugs who assaulted the clerics.He praised the role of officials, the army, judiciary, and security forces in containing the repercussions on the incident and averting strife. A number of youths assaulted on Sunday two sheikhs in Beirut's Khandaq al-Ghamiq neighborhood, while two others were also attacked on the Shiyyah area.
Angry demonstrators soon took to the streets and blocked roads with burning tires to protest the assault. Seven people have so far been arrested over links to the attack and investigations are ongoing to uncover their accomplices. Berri stressed the need to fortify the internal Lebanese scene and bolster national unity “to confront the critical phase Lebanon is passing through in light of the dangerous developments in the region.”
He therefore highlighted the need to set as a priority the security situation in the country, calling for supporting the army and security forces in protecting stability and civil peace.
The speaker also discussed with the lawmakers the details of his talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Rome. The three officials addressed a new parliamentary electoral law, with Berri saying that the talks “need further discussion.”Miqati had hinted on Monday that the three officials had reached an agreement over a hybrid electoral law, which al-Rahi will propose before Christian powers upon his return to Lebanon.The speaker, premier, and patriarch were in Rome earlier this week to attend the inauguration mass of Pope Francis I. Berri later held talks on Wednesday with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on the security situation in Lebanon in light of the attack against the four sheikhs. The minister said that the speaker insisted that the case “be followed through until the very end.”
He demanded that the judiciary take a firm approach in dealing with the affair.Moreover, Berri stressed the need to uncover the sides who prompted the youths to carry out the attack and hold them accountable for their actions.

National Bloc leader Carlos Edde: No place for moderates in Lebanon
March 21, 2013 /By Jana El Hassan/The Daily Star
Edde: “Assad has dug his own grave.”BEIRUT: Moderates no longer stand a chance in Lebanon because all political leaders have an interest in maintaining strife in the country, according to National Bloc leader Carlos Edde, a staunch defender of single-member parliamentary districts.“Unfortunately, political leaders have an interest in maintaining strife in the country because when they run for the elections they have nothing to offer the people expect hatred and fear. This is their way of mobilizing voters,” Edde told The Daily Star in an interview at his Beirut residence.“You also have the clergy, who do not want to give up their powers for the sake of a civil society. ... All these groups have incited so much hatred that moderates are no longer to reach the hearts of the people.” Edde, a two-time runner-up in parliamentary elections, said that none of the electoral proposals put forward by different political groups sought to bring about constructive change. “All electoral reform [proposals] have been made thinking of the results and not of representation,” said Edde, who favors a single-member-district voting system as used in France, the U.S. and several other countries.
The National Bloc’s election proposal supports dividing Lebanon into 128 districts, with MPs elected in one or two stages.
A candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the votes would win in the first round, otherwise a second and final round would be required between the top two vote-getters from the first round.
Edde, 57, was a part of coalition tickets when he ran twice for a Maronite seat in Kesrouan and Jbeil against the lists fielded by Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement.
He succeeded as party leader his uncle Raymond Edde, a long-time MP for Jbeil who always championed the single-member district.
Edde said that by revamping the electoral system with single-member districts, control over Parliament by major parties would be broken, giving individuals a chance at victory.
“Candidates won’t have to beg to be on a list of a major party and voters will have a wider chance of interaction with their future representatives,” he said.
Edde also blamed the “list system” for reproducing the same lawmakers over the years, as voters’ options remain limited.
“There is a question that’s in everyone’s mind: Why is it that, after seeing such a bad performance by both the March 8 and March 14 [camps], the elections bring us the same people?” asked Edde.
“Is it that the Lebanese do not know how to elect? No. It is the system that forces them to do so, because when they vote through the list system, whether they are in the majority or the opposition, their choices are very limited.”
Edde, a former ally of the March 14 coalition, said that he withdrew from the group because it “failed the people and mismanaged the cause.”
He said his final pullout from the coalition was caused by his disapproval of resorting to Qatari-sponsored mediation in the wake of civil strife in May 2008.
“I have been saying since 2005 that March 8 has the worst cause and best management of their cause and vice versa for the March 14, they have the best cause with the worst management of it,” he said.
As for the tense security situation in Lebanon, Edde said attacks earlier this week on four Muslim scholars from Dar al-Fatwa, Sunni’s highest religious authority, were not a coincidence.
“What happened with the two sheikhs is not an accident; it’s a way to raise the stakes and increase tension between two grand communities in Lebanon, the Sunnis and the Shiites,” he said.
“Many sides have interests in maintaining strife in Lebanon: Israel, Syria and even Sunni radicals will use the conflict with other communities as an excuse to justify their presence.”
Edde also said it was only normal for Lebanon to be affected by what is happening in neighboring Syria, which is the country’s only “access” to the Arab world.
“The more the Syrian regime is in trouble, the more they would want to extend strife [in Lebanon],” he said.
Edde added that when he ran for Parliament in 2005, he was aware he would lose but he wanted to convey a message that the crisis with the Syrian regime was not over.
“I wanted to ring an alarm bell that even the post-Syrian pullout stage would be very critical, but unfortunately no one wanted to listen.”
However, the politician believes that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad will eventually fall.
“I cannot conceive of a possibility where the Assad regime stays in power. It will absolutely fall,” Edde said. “As Arab history has shown, there is a point that these regimes cannot stay. Assad has dug his own grave.”
As for the U.S. inaction regarding the Syrian crisis, Edde said that President Barack Obama’s administration no longer wanted to be involved in the Middle East as it was before.
“There are those against the Syrian regime in the [United] States and another group that does not want to get involved in what is happening. I think that Obama does not want to increase America’s commitment in the region,” Edde said.
Edde also described the Islamist rise in the region as a “consequence” rather than a “cause.”
“I think that the Islamist rise is not a cause but a consequence of the Western policy of support for Israel and blocking any possibility for a real meaningful solution and the result of dictatorial regimes that have had absolutely no respect for the rights of their citizens,” he said.
“It’s like a pendulum. When it swings too far in one direction, it is bound to swing as far in the opposite direction. On the medium or long run, it will come to equilibrium,” he said.
“I think all people eventually want the same basic things. They want comfort, security, dignity and a steady job with a steady income. ... Islamists will eventually have to confront certain realities of job markets and economies and social reforms,” he added.
“Islamists will eventfully have to accommodate their point of view to reality or else they will be thrown out.”

Khamenei Urges Iran to Stand Up to Sanctions
Naharnet/Iran began the Persian New Year on Wednesday with its most senior leader asking the people to stand up to piling Western economic sanctions and also warning that the pressure was unlikely to ease.
If Iranians show more "readiness" to face Western pressure, the next 12 months will be a "political and economic epoch" for the country, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a recorded message on state television.
The year will be filled with "development, activity and dexterity," Khamenei vowed in the message aired shortly after Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, marking the transition of winter to spring.
But, he warned, "it does not mean that the enmity of enemies will subside," alluding to Western opposition to Iran's nuclear program and harsh sanctions against the economy of the Islamic republic.
Western powers and Israel suspect Iran's atomic activities have military objectives, despite repeated denials.
Coupled with unilateral sanctions by the United States and the European Union, U.N. Security Council punitive measures have been implemented to all but coerce Iran into curbing its nuclear work.
Final decisions on the nuclear drive rest with Khamenei, and Iran has vowed to continue with its program of uranium enrichment.
On Wednesday, Khamenei said economic sanctions had failed to "cripple" Iran, while also noting an increase in pressure.
"It appeared that the enemy was toughening up against Iran" in the past 12 months, he said. "They said and insisted they wanted to cripple the Iranian nation with sanctions. But they failed."
The ailing economy, which has long struggled with high inflation and unemployment, was further buffeted in 2012 by increasingly severe U.S. and EU sanctions targeting its vital oil and financial sectors.
Iran's currency, the rial, has lost nearly two thirds of its value since late 2011.
"Economic pressure was exerted on the people and problems arose," Khamenei said, while implicitly criticizing the government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for its "negligence" in handling the economy.
However, Khamenei said that those problems had let Iran gain "dexterity" in battling the sanctions, and also claimed the nation was making progress despite these woes.
Six world powers -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- have engaged with Tehran to seek a diplomatic solution to the nuclear stand-off.
Iran's next round of talks with the so-called group of P5+1 is scheduled for April 5 and 6 in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
SourceAgence France Presse

Obama: Syria to Be Accountable for Any Use of Chemical Arms
Naharnet /U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned the Damascus regime it would be held accountable for any use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria in a move which would spark an international response. Speaking at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Obama said the use of chemical agents against the Syrian people would be a "grave and tragic mistake" and a "game-changer."
"The Assad regime must understand they will be held accountable," he said. His remarks came a day after the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad traded accusations with rebel forces over the use of chemical weapons in a deadly attack in the northern province of Aleppo on Tuesday which killed 31 people.
On Tuesday, Damascus accused rebel forces of launching a missile "containing chemical materials," with its allies Russia and Iran condemning opposition forces over the alleged attack.
Opposition forces denied using chemical weapons, instead accusing the regime of having itself used the banned munitions. But Obama said he was highly doubtful about claims the rebels had used chemical agents. "I am deeply skeptical of any claim that in fact it was the opposition that used chemical weapons," he said. Earlier on Wednesday, during a joint news conference in Jerusalem with Obama, Israeli President Shimon Peres warned against chemical arms falling into the wrong hands."Fortunately the Syrian nuclear capacity was destroyed but unfortunately the arsenal of chemical weapons remain. We cannot allow those weapons to fall into terrorists' hands -- it could lead to an epic tragedy," Peres said. Washington said there was no evidence that rebels had fired chemical weapons, but said it would consult its allies on claims that the regime had used them. Israel has consistently raised the alarm over Damascus's stockpiles of chemical weapons, raising fears they could fall into the hands of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia or other radical militant groups operating in Syria. "On our northern border Iran's proxy Hizbullah continues to stockpile arms and threaten our civilians while they target innocent people across the world," Peres said.
"Hizbullah is destroying Lebanon and supporting the brutal massacre of the Syrian people by President Assad," he charged. But Peres said the biggest danger remained Iran's nuclear program, which Israel and much of the West believes is a guise for a weapons drive. "The greatest danger is a nuclear Iran ... We trust your policy which calls first to try by non-military means with a clear statement that there are other options on the table," he said, expressing a confidence which is rarely expressed by Israeli officials."You made it clear that your intention is not to contain but to prevent."Obama did not comment on the content of their discussions, but said it had given him a chance to talk with Peres on a whole range of topics "from the historic changes that are taking place across the region, to the perils of a nuclear-armed Iran, to the imperatives of peace between Israelis and Palestinians."
SourceAgence France Presse

Assad in Surprise Visit to Damascus Education Center
Naharnet /Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad paid an unexpected visit to an educational center in the capital Damascus on Wednesday, the presidency said on its official Facebook page.
"President Assad made a surprise visit to the Educational Center for Fine Arts where the education ministry was honoring the families of students who were martyred as a result of terrorist acts, to honor the parents himself," the presidency wrote, alongside photos of Assad at the center.The visit appeared to be Assad's first public appearance since he attended prayers at a mosque in a northern district of Damascus to mark the Prophet Mohammed's birthday on January 24th.Before that he had not been seen in public since a rare speech to supporters on January 6, in which he dismissed calls for his removal and said he had no partners with whom to negotiate for an end to the conflict.In photos posted on the presidency page, Assad is shown meeting with relatives of those killed in the violence that has enveloped his country, killing more than 70,000 people according to United Nations estimates.
In one, he is shown looking at a poster featuring photos of victims, and in another, talking to a group of women, one of whom is clutching his hand.
The education center specializes in training teachers of the fine arts, and is in the Tijara neighborhood of eastern Damascus, near Jubar district, where fighting has raged for months between regime and rebel forces.
The visit came a day after the regime accused opposition forces of using chemical weapons in their battle to oust Assad, a charge the rebels denied.
SourceAgence France PresseNaharnet

Three Wounded in Clashes between Georges Abdallah Supporters, Security Forces
Naharnet /Three people were wounded on Wednesday in clashes between security forces and protesters demanding the release of leftist militant Georges Abdallah in front of the French Ambassador Patrice Paoli's residence, al-Mayadeen television reported.The National News Agency explained: “Clashes broke out when protesters tried to breakthrough the security fence and approach the ambassador's house amid the security forces' resistance.”
The International Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah released a statement later on Wednesday condemning the security forces' “brutal assault”, calling on Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to “penalize the perpetrators”.
"Security forces are still pursuing a repressive mentality that contradicts with basic human rights,” the statement said. "This will not, however, deter us from continuing with our peaceful protests until Abdallah's release and we will announce on Thursday future steps to be undertaken”.Wednesday's protest comes after a French court has postponed the decision to release Abdallah to April 4.
The campaign had organized several protests outside the France's embassy and several French cultural centers throughout Lebanon to press for Abdallah's release. The militant was jailed for life in 1987 after being convicted in the 1982 murders of military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov. However, a French court last year granted parole for the former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction (LARF), provided he was deported back to his home country. The court then postponed a final decision, drawing ire from Lebanon. Abdallah has been eligible for parole since 1999, but seven previous applications were all rejected.