Bible Quotation for today/The tomb was Guarded

Matthew 27/62-66: "The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, "After three days I will rise again." Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, "He has been raised from the dead", and the last deception would be worse than the first.’Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Right with God

Romans 05/01-11/Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory! We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.  For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time that God chose.  It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person. But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger!  We were God's enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God's friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ's life! But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God's friends.

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

Refugee crisis threatens Lebanon's stability/Vivianne El-Khawly/Now Lebanon/March 30/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for March 30/13

Pope presides over first Good Friday observances

NKorea Puts Rockets on Standby for U.S. Strike after B-2 Drill

Moody's: Lebanese crisis worst since 2008

France ready to blacklist armed wing of Hezbollah'
Bulgaria won't lead drive to blacklist Hezbollah'

Hezbollah is using Salafist groups, Future official says

Noteworthy Overflight of Israeli AWACS Aircraft over South

March 14 Committee to Set Stage for Opposition Consensus on New PM, Vote Law
Israel: Next War with Hizbullah Will Be Ten Times Fiercer than 2006 Conflict

Syrian Observatory: Rebels Seize Town on Key Highway to South

Report: Saniora to Head to Riyadh on Saturday to Meet Hariri

Jumblat Rejects Omitting Any Party from Consultations on Formation of New Cabinet

Lebanese Fisherman Injured after Coming under Fire from Syrian Boat

Berri Says Name of PM-Designate Depends on Cabinet Shape

Berri Undergoes 'Stone Removal' Surgery at AUBMC

Prominent Tripoli Fighter Wounded in Assassination Bid

Power Line Damages in Akkar as Syrian Shells Hit Northern Towns

Families of Islamists Protest in Tripoli over Delay in Trials

Saudi heavy weapons supply to Syrian rebels breaks up Arab summit in uproar
Syria rebels seize town on key highway to south: activists

Clashes erupt in two cities in northern Egypt

Cyprus says threat contained, no plan to leave euro

Israel, Turkey Officials to Start Raid Compensation Talks on April 12
Iran Slams Qatar over Syria Rebel 'Embassy'

France ready to blacklist armed wing of Hezbollah'
By JPOST.COM STAFFLAST UPDATED: 03/29/2013 1
'Al Hayat' reports Burgas attack, support for Assad has Paris ready to designate Hezbollah's armed wing a terrorist organization.France is prepared to designate the military wing of Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the London-Based Arabic daily Al Hayat reported on Friday, citing a French official. The European Union has been under pressure from the United States and Israel to blacklist the Shi'ite organization, a demand which has intensified since last month when Bulgaria implicated Hezbollah in the Burgas bus bombing, in which five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver were killed.source, Paris's openness to label the military wing of Hezbollah a terror organization stems from its responsibility for the Burgas attack and its participation in Syria's civil war on the side of President Bashar Assad. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius discussed the matter with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, according to the report. According to the source the move is more symbolic than practical because it will not lead the EU to blacklist the "political branch" of Hezbollah, and therefore, will not stop the organization from receiving funds from Europe. Also Friday, Der Spiegel's news site reported that the German government wants to increase pressure on the European Union to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations. According to the report, after talks with representatives of the American Jewish Committee and security experts, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said he favored banning the group in Europe. A spokesman for Friedrich reportedly said that if Hezbollah's responsibility for the Burgas bombing is confirmed, there will be a strong case for blacklisting Hezbollah. The reports came after a criminal court in Limassol, Cyprus, on Thursday sentenced Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, an admitted Hezbollah operative, to four years in prison for plotting to kill Israeli tourists on the island. Yaacoub’s conviction may add greater urgency to European Union talks on whether to include Hezbollah in its terror list. EU countries such as Austria and Germany have not included Hezbollah on its terror list because of insufficient legal evidence. The Cyprus conviction represents the first conviction of a Hezbollah member in a European court. But many European governments are cautious about imposing sanctions on Hezbollah, arguing it could fuel tensions in the Middle East.ritish Foreign Secretary William Hague said earlier this month that Britain would be in favor of Hezbollah’s military wing being blacklisted at the European level. France had until now resisted including Hezbollah in the EU terror list, because of fears it could lose diplomatic leverage in Lebanon. The Netherlands lists Hezbollah’s entire organization as a terror entity. *Benjamin Weinthal and Reuters contributed to this report.

Bulgaria will not push for Hezbollah blacklisting
March 29, 2013 /Daily Star /SOFIA: Bulgaria says it won't initiate a push to declare Hezbollah a terror group after last summer's bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver. The government, however, says it will hand to its partners all evidence collected during the investigation into the attack. An official Bulgarian report last month said investigators had reasons to suggest the bombing suspects belonged to Hezbollah's militant wing. Marin Raykov, appointed interim prime minister pending elections in May, says his country "will not initiate an EU procedure for blacklisting persons and organizations." Raykov made his remarks Friday during a farewell ceremony for the Lebanese ambassador, who pledged Lebanon's full support for the investigation. In the European Union, only the Netherlands lists Hezbollah as a terrorist group, while Britain blacklists its military wing.
 

Bulgaria won't lead drive to blacklist Hezbollah'
By JPOST.COM STAFF03/29/2013 21:35
Sofia will pass on all evidence uncovered in probe into Burgas terror attack, Sofia News Agency quotes Bulgarian PM as saying. Sofia will not "initiate the procedure to include certain groups or individuals in the banned list of the European Union," Bulgarian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marin Raykov said Friday in reference to Hezbollah, as quoted by the Sofia News Agency. Raykov's comments followed a meeting with Lebanon's outgoing Ambassador to Bulgaria Micheline Abi Amra, who assured him that her country will fully cooperate in the investigation into the Burgas terror attack that killed five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver last year. The European Union has been under pressure from the United States and Israel to blacklist the Hezbollah, a demand which has intensified since last month when Bulgaria implicated Hezbollah in the Burgas bus bombing. "Bulgaria and Lebanon have traditionally good relations, which we should develop further in the interests of our two peoples. In Bulgaria, there are many Lebanese people, who make a significant contribution to Bulgarian society and are a natural link between the two countries," Raykov was quoted as saying. According to the report, he emphasized that the Bulgarian authorities were continuing the probe into the attack and that his country relies on support and cooperation from Lebanon to reveal the perpetrators of the attack. He also stated that Bulgaria would provide its partners and allies with all the evidence found in the investigation.Earlier Friday, France said it was prepared to designate the military wing of Hezbollah a terrorist organization, the London-Based Arabic daily Al Hayat reported, citing a French official. Meanwhile, Der Spiegel's news site reported that the German government wants to increase pressure on the European Union to add the group to its list of terrorist organizations. The reports came after a criminal court in Limassol, Cyprus, on Thursday sentenced Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, an admitted Hezbollah operative, to four years in prison for plotting to kill Israeli tourists on the island. *Benjamin Weinthal and Reuters contributed to this report.

Moody's: Lebanese crisis worst since 2008

Now Lebanon/An analyst in the Moody's credit rating agency deemed the current political crisis in Lebanon as the worst since the eruption of clashes in May 2008, when Hezbollah militants overran the western area of Beirut.
"This is the worst political crisis since the civil war that took place in 2008 [the May 7 events], which ended with the Doha Agreement," an analyst in the organization told NOW's correspondent Haytham Tafesh on Friday.
"The resignation of the cabinet will probably delay the parliamentary elections, and will draw question marks and create doubt about the [parties'] ability to agree on an electoral law, which has become a controversy," Gabriel Torres said. "The cabinet's resignation reflects the deep division in the Lebanese political scene."Torres also said that the civil war in Syria has caused the growth of Lebanon's economy to slow.
"The available data show a great decrease in the economic growth, and according to the International Monetary Fund the GDP decreased from 8.1 percent for the years between 2007 and 2010 to 1.2 percent for 2012," he added.Lebanon is facing a political crisis that has deepened following the resignation last week of the Najib Miqati government. The government’s resignation came following a disagreement during its last session over the appointment of a supervisory body for the upcoming parliamentary elections and the extension of the term in office of top security officials, most notably Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi.Moody's is one of the three premier international credit rating agencies that evaluate the risk of investing in countries

Refugee crisis threatens Lebanon's stability, minister says
‘One million Syrians’ claim jolts Lebanon
Vivianne El-Khawly/Now Lebanon
Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour told NOW that the increased number of refugees fleeing Syria’s violence is leading to grave repercussions on the Lebanese state. “Lebanon is facing the exacerbation of the [refugees] problem given the growing economic, social and security pressures,” Abou Faour told NOW contributor Vivianne al-Khawly in an exclusive interview on Friday. “This crisis is now threatening the country’s stability,” the caretaker minister added. Abou Faour went on to state that Lebanon has not yet collected the aid it was meant to receive from donor states, which is meant to help deal with Syria’s refugees on Lebanese territory. “Till this moment, the Lebanese government has not received the financial aid it was promised.”The caretaker minister explained that Lebanon had requested some $378 million to help it provide for the Syrian refugees, who now exceeded 370,000 according to a report from the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees. “All that [Lebanon] has received from the donor states which convened in Kuwait was around $72 million, and it was not the Lebanese government who received [this amount], but rather the UN’s institutions.” In early January, after the humanitarian crisis resulting from the huge waves of Syrian exodus to neighboring states mounted, different countries met in Kuwait at an emergency Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria where the international donors pledged more than $1.5 billion. Abou Faour stressed once more the importance of Lebanon receiving the promised aid, explaining that it will be necessary in order to “implement a plan that would render the country prepared to face any new waves of [Syrian] exodus.”He also highlighted the “continuing coordination” between the ministries and the UN’s refugee agency in the matters of registering the refugees and providing them with aid. Spokesperson for the UNHCR Dana Suleiman echoed the caretaker minister’s comments, saying that “the [refugee] agency has so far received 38% only of the requested amount in aid for Lebanon.” Meanwhile, she explained in her remarks to NOW that the problem lies in “Lebanon’s small area and its infrastructure that is incapable of taking in this large number of refugees.”Lebanon has been facing difficulties dealing with the increasingly high number of refugees fleeing Syria’s violent uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, which has killed more than 70,000 people since its outbreak in March 2011. The Syrian crisis has also had an impact on Lebanon’s political scene, which was split between pro-Syrian regime parties affiliated with the March 8 alliance and parties associated with the March 14 coalition who back the rebels.

Christians descend on Holy City for Good Friday
Now Lebanon/Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims marched Friday along the narrow alleys of Jerusalem's Old City on the path that tradition holds Jesus carried the cross on the way to his crucifixion.
The pilgrims were marking Good Friday by walking from the Monastery of the Flagellation along the route now known as the Via Dolorosa or Way of Suffering to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.Filipinos, Indians, Spaniards and Sri Lankans were among those who took part in the procession through the Stations of the Cross under the watch of thousands of Israeli police. Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches celebrate Easter this weekend but for the Orthodox Churches Easter Sunday falls on May 5.Israeli security forces have been deployed to protect the pilgrims as Palestinian demonstrators emerge from the main weekly Muslim prayers ahead of "Land Day" commemorations, an Israeli police spokeswoman told AFP. Land Day is held every year to mark the deaths of six Arab Israeli protesters at the hands of Israeli police and troops during mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Arab land in Galilee. Many Jews were also present in the Holy City for the Passover, or Pesach, when they commemorate the Exodus of the biblical Israelites from captivity in Egypt. Jesus was beaten, mocked and crowned with thorns at the Monastery of the Flagellation before being crucified and buried at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Gospels teach that on the third day after he was crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. The event is commemorated by Easter, the most important day of the church year to most Christians.

Hezbollah is using Salafist groups, Future official says
Now Lebanon/Future Movement official Ahmad Hariri accused the Shiite Party Hezbollah of taking advantage of Salafists’ actions in Lebanon to justify a future attack on its opponents. “Hezbollah is shedding light on the Salafist Movements in order to justify a security [strike] it will carry out,” Hariri told Al-Arabiya television on Friday. The Future official mentioned the events that took place on May 7, 2008 to back his comments. On the day in question, gunmen affiliated with Hezbollah began a military operation and took over West Beirut following a government decision to shut down the party’s telecommunications network. Hariri later slammed the Salafist phenomenon, saying that “those do not apply religion.” He went on to deny any ties between his party and these movements, but accused, however, recently resigned Prime Minister Najib Miqati of being linked to the tension caused by Sunni Salafist groups. The opposition official also cast blame on Iran for the disturbances rocking the country because it “plays a big role in Syria and Lebanon.” Lebanon has seen the number of Islamists and Salafist groups multiply over the course of the past year, most notoriously Sunni Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and his supporters. The firebrand cleric, who rose to prominence for his outspoken opposition to Hezbollah, has caused many agitations across the country, notably in Sidon. Elsewhere, Hariri tackled the Future Movement’s troubled relationship with Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani. “The Mufti has replaced his relationship with us with ties with Hezbollah,” he said. The Future official also voiced his party’s advocation of electing a new Mufti, whose performance he deemed “weak.” In November 2012, Qabbani called for a new election for the Higher Islamic Council at the end of the year, but clerics in the body allied with the Future Movement opposed the move, after which the Grand Mufti reversed his decision. The mostly Sunni Future Movement and Qabbani are at loggerheads over the management of the Dar al-Fatwa religious body. Some reports have also claimed that clerics in the council aim to unseat the Grand Mufti. When asked about the electoral law issue, Hariri - whose party is a fierce opponent of the sectarian-based Orthodox law – said that if this draft was passed, “we will implement it and we will not boycott [the elections].” The controversial Orthodox proposal was endorsed by Lebanon’s four major Christian parties and approved by the joint parliamentary commissions. However, the draft was rejected by the Future Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and independent Christian MPs as well as President Michel Suleiman and caretaker Prime Minister Miqati, on the grounds that it would trigger sectarian divisions within the country. This prompted Future lawmakers and PSP leader MP Walid Jumbaltt to hold discussions on a new mixed electoral proposal that will be based on majoritarian voting in 26 districts and proportional voting in 9 other constituencies.

Saudi heavy weapons supply to Syrian rebels breaks up Arab summit in uproar
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report March 28, 2013,
Syrian rebels fighting for control of the Syria’s biggest town, Aleppo, have obtained their first heavy weapons – 220-mm MLRS rocket launchers – through a large-scale supply operation run by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, according to DEBKAfile’s exclusive intelligence sources. His agents scoured the Balkans nations of Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo and for large wads of cash snapped up Russian-made MLRS (Smerch) and Hurricane 9K57 launchers capable of firing scores of 220-mm rockets to a distance of 70 kilometers. The Saudis hope to expedite the rebel capture of the big Syrian Nairab air base attached to Aleppo’s international air port. The Saudi prince has personally taken the Nairab battle under his wing, convinced that it is the key to the conquest of Aleppo, once Syria's national commercial and population center, after more than a year’s impasse in the battle for its control. The fall of this air base would also substantially reduce the big Iranian and Russian airlifts to Assad’s army. Russia brings down its cargo planes loaded with weapons and replacement parts for the Syrian army at Nairab after the air facilities around Damascus were targeted by rebel fire. Moscow has since warned the rebels that if they attack incoming or outgoing Russian planes at Nairab, Russian special forces will come in to wipe out their strength around the base and take over its protection themselves. Of late, Russian and Iranian arms lifts to Nairab were doubled, after rebels seized many Alawite villages in the Aleppo and Idlib regions of northern Syria. Members of Bashar Assad’s Alawite sect, their inhabitants, mainly women and children, have been fleeing en masse from their homes in fear of rebel retribution. They are making for the coastal towns of Tartus and Latakia which are still under regime control. The question is for how long. In the third week of March, Russian warships stopped docking at the naval port of Tartus after finding its piers and facilities crowded with Alawite refugees who came up to the Russian seamen begging for food, water and medical aid. From March 21, Russian warships on the Mediterranean were ordered to avoid Tartus and relocate their visits to Lebanon’s Beirut port. The Saudi operation for shipping heavy rocket launchers from the Balkans to Aleppo is complicated. The rockets are fixed to vehicles weighing 43.7 tons each. The rockets themselves are 7.6 meters long and weigh 800 kilograms. To arrange the transfer of this heavy artillery to the rebels in Aleppo, Prince Bandar contacted Hakan Fidan, head of the MIT-Turkish National Intelligence Organization. They agreed to set up an overland route from the Balkans via Turkey and across the Syrian border to Aleppo, under the protection of the Turkish army. Our sources report that Ankara’s initial refusal of cooperation was overcome with a sharp reminder by Prince Bandar of the scale of Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia and the damage to the Turkish economy of their potential suspension. The news that Saudi Arabia was supplying Syrian rebels with heavy weapons stunned the Arab League summit taking place in Doha, Qatar this week, bringing it to a clamorous end, DEBKAfile's intelligence and Middle East sources reveal. Saudi and Qatari delegates were heard hurling shrill abuse at one another and exchanging blows in private meeting rooms down the corridors of the assembly hall. The conference proceedings were abruptly halted as Arab delegation members pitched in to separate them. A total blackout was quickly drawn down on the summit as it broke up in disarray. The Saudi royal rulers and Qatar’s Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani have been at extreme loggerheads over the Syrian civil conflict. Riyadh - and Prince Bandar in particular - accuses the Qataris of conspiring to bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Damascus, including radical groups tied to Al Qaeda. Qatari Prime Minister and Secret Service Chief Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem has shot back with the charge that Saudi Arabia is maneuvering for control of the Syrian rebel movement. The Saudis condemn Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's close ties with Qatar’s ruling family which they say eggs on Doha’s schemes for Syria. For this reason, too, Bandar insisted on Turkey taking active part in facilitating the Balkan heavy arms route to Aleppo.

Israel: Next War with Hizbullah Will Be Ten Times Fiercer than 2006 Conflict
Naharnet /Israel expected on Friday that the next war with Hizbullah will be completely different than the July 2006 conflict. Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command Chief Major General Eyal Eisenberg warned that the next war with the party will be ten times fiercer than the 2006 one. He also predicted than Israel will be bombarded with ten times more rockets on a daily basis by Hizbullah than the rate it was targeted with seven years ago.
He noted that prior to 2006, Hizbullah was capable of launching 500 rockets at Gush Dan in Israel, but it failed to do so because the Israeli air force destroyed Iran's Fajr rockets within the first few days of the war.
Should a war erupt today, continued Eisenberg, he said that Gush Dan would be the target of some 5,000 Hizbullah rockets. The first few days of the next conflict will be very difficult and we are prepared for a scenario that witnesses the launching of 2,000 rockets at a daily basis, he added. Israel is not seeking such a war as it will be futile for it and the other side, he remarked. Israel knows how to incur greater damage against its enemies than they do against it because of its air force's possession of more destructive and accurate weapons, Eisenberg explained. Both sides will be harmed from the conflict, but Israel is more capable of swiftly recovering form it, he stressed.

Berri Says Name of PM-Designate Depends on Cabinet Shape
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri has said the name of the premier-designate hinges on the type and shape of the new government. “If it is a cabinet (tasked) with holding the elections, then the prime minister-designate would have certain specifications,” Berri told several local dailies published Friday. “If it is a salvation government, then specifications will be different,” he said, reiterating his support for such a cabinet.
“If during the binding parliamentary consultations the president asked me who will be my nominee, I will first ask him about the nature of the cabinet that will be formed,” Berri said.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati resigned last Friday over differences between cabinet members on the authority that would oversee the elections and the extension of the tenure of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi. Reports have said that the caretaker PM was the favorite to head a salvation government that brings together both the March 8 and March 14 alliances. Asked about the parliamentary elections, Berri reiterated that the 1960 law that considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system will not be adopted in the polls. “The 1960 law is dead and the major sign of its death is the non-formation of the authority that will supervise the polls that is stipulated in article 11 of the law,” Berri said. “This authority should be formed two months before the elections are held and remains in its mission six months after the polls,” he told the newspapers. “It has certain authorities and the electoral process can't take place without it.” Given Miqati's resignation and differences between the rival camps on the new electoral draft-law, parliament's mandate will likely be extended. Berri held talks on Thursday night with the political aide of the Hizbullah chief, Hussein Khalil. Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who is Berri's aide, also attended the talks. Their discussions focused on Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun's stance from the Orthodox proposal amid reports of a rift between him and the speaker. Aoun wants Berri to call for a parliamentary session to approve the plan. But Berri favors holding a session to abolish the 1960 law over fears that an assembly with the Orthodox proposal on its agenda would be boycotted by the opposition al-Mustaqbal bloc, National Struggle Front MPs and March 14 independent Christian lawmakers. The plan, which considers Lebanon a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own lawmakers under a proportional representation system, has been approved by the joint parliamentary committees.

Jumblat Rejects Omitting Any Party from Consultations on Formation of New Cabinet
Naharnet/Centrist Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat rejected on Friday to eliminate any Lebanese party from consultations on the formation of the new cabinet, expressing pessimism over the situation in the country after Prime Minister Najib Miqati announced his resignation. “I refuse to exclude anyone... The situation is critical,” Jumblat said in an interview published in al-Akhabr newspaper. He noted that Hizbullah will not exert any pressure on him to name any candidate to the premiership similar to 2011, when he was pressed to name Miqati. The cabinet of ex-Prime Minister Saad Hariri was toppled by Hizbullah and its allies in 2011. Jumblat played a major role in deciding the fate of the majority alliance that made up the government of Miqati. The March 8 majority led by Hizbullah, backed by some of Jumblat’s 12-member National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc, brought Miqati to the premiership after Hariri’s national unity cabinet was toppled. “They should realize that the conditions today are not the same as they were in 2011... We're at the heart of the ongoing crisis in Syria,” Jumblat told al-Akhbar. Miqati announced last week his resignation in light of sharp differences among ministers on the extension of the term of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and the establishment of the authority that would oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections. “We should resume the national dialogue,” the Druze leader pointed out.
The March 14 opposition had boycotted in October all political activity with the cabinet of Miqati after it blamed his government for the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Wissam al-Hasan, demanding its resignation. The last dialogue session was held in September last year. Asked about his candidate to the premiership, Jumblat refused to comment, saying: “We have enough time to kick off consultations... The matter isn't up to me.” However, the MP stressed on the importance of consensus over the name of the nominee. “I will not name any person until next week but if we agreed to form a technocrat cabinet then (head of the Economic Committees) Adnan Kassar should head it.” He denied reports saying that Miqati will head again a cabinet divided equally between the March 14 alliance, the March 8 coalition and the centrists. On Thursday, President Michel Suleiman set April 5 and 6 as the dates of the consultations to name a new prime minister. Jumblat rejected the appointment of caretaker Energy Minister of Jebran Bassil at the head of the ministry, in addition handing the portfolio of the Telecommunications ministry to the Free Patriotic Movement. On the new electoral law, the lawmaker held on to his stance regarding the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal, considering it the “greatest evil.” He rejected to trade-off the extension of the terms of the heads of the security agencies with the approval of the Orthodox draft-law.
Rifi's tenure ends on April 1 as he turns 59, the ISF’s maximum working age. He has been on the helm of the agency for the past 9 years. A consensus over an electoral law has yet to be reached among the political foes.
The Orthodox 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 Suleiman, Miqati, al-Mustaqbal bloc, the PSP, and the independent Christian MPs of the March 14 opposition, saying it harms the social fabric and increases sectarian tension. Jumblat said that he will boycott any parliamentary session that includes voting on the draft-law on its agenda. “The 1960 law is still standing... We will announce our candidates ahead of April 9,” he noted. Suleiman and Miqati 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, which has totally rejected the law. Jumblat told al-Akhbar that he rejects the adoption of an electoral law other than a hybrid one that combines winner-takes all and proportional representation systems.


NKorea Puts Rockets on Standby for U.S. Strike after B-2 Drill
Naharnet /North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered preparations Friday for strategic rocket strikes on the U.S. mainland and military bases after U.S. stealth bombers flew training runs over South Korea.
The order came as U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, with tensions soaring on the Korean peninsula, said Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang's bellicose threats and stood ready to respond to "any eventuality".
Kim directed his rocket units on standby at an overnight emergency meeting with top army commanders, hours after nuclear-capable U.S. B-2 stealth bombers were deployed in ongoing U.S. joint military drills with South Korea. In the event of any "reckless" U.S. provocation, North Korean forces should "mercilessly strike the U.S. mainland... military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea", he was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). While North Korea has no proven ability to conduct such strikes, Kim argued that the stealth bomber flights went beyond a simple demonstration of force and amounted to a U.S. "ultimatum that they will ignite a nuclear war at any cost". The United States rarely acknowledges B-2 flights to the Korean peninsula, which remains technically at war. The aircraft, which dodge anti-aircraft defenses, bombed targets in conflicts in Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. The flights came as part of annual drills between the United States and South Korea, which North Korea each year denounces as rehearsals for war.
Pyongyang has been particularly vocal this time, angered by U.N. sanctions imposed after its long-range rocket launch in December and the third nuclear test it carried out last month.
Kim's order formalized steps already taken by the Korean People's Army (KPA), which put its strategic rocket units at combat-ready status on Tuesday. The following day it cut the last remaining military hotline with South Korea. The bulk of the threats emanating from Pyongyang have been dismissed as bluster, and North Korea has no confirmed missile capability to reach the U.S. mainland -- or indeed Guam or Hawaii in the Pacific.
But Washington has opted to match the threats with its own muscle-flexing.
"We will be prepared -- we have to be prepared -- to deal with any eventuality," Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon.
"We must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously and we'll respond to that," Hagel said, defending the B-2 deployment.
U.S. military intelligence has noted that the North's warlike rhetoric has not, so far, been matched by any overtly provocative troop movements or build-up.
Pyongyang has also been careful not to allow tensions to affect the Kaesong industrial complex, a joint South-North venture that provides the regime with crucial hard currency.
Present at the emergency meeting convened by Kim in Pyongyang, were the KPA chief of general staff, director of operations and commander of strategic rocket operations.
KCNA, which rarely even mentions which day events have taken place, provided an unusually precise timing for the meeting of 00:30 am (1530 GMT Thursday) in an apparent effort to underline the urgency and import of Kim's order. But analysts warned against reading too much into what is the latest in a long series of incremental rhetorical upgrades.
"It shouldn't be taken to mean war is imminent," said Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University.
"It's an inevitable and calibrated reaction to the B-2 deployment, and this who-blinks-first game with the United States will continue for a while yet," he said.
On the assumption that the North would never invite a full-scale conflict it would surely lose, experts believe it may opt for a limited provocation, similar to its 2010 shelling of a South Korean island that killed four people.
However, the stakes have been raised by a new pact South Korea signed with the U.S. military last week, allowing it to call on U.S. forces for a joint response to even a low-scale act of aggression.
Agence France Presse

What did Jesus mean when He said 'It is finished'?"
Got. Question.org/Answer: Of the last sayings of Christ on the cross, none is more important or more poignant than His very last utterance, “It is finished.” Found only in the Gospel of John, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin.
Just prior to His arrest by the Romans, Jesus prayed His last public prayer, asking the Father to glorify Him, just as Jesus had glorified the Father on earth, having “finished the work you have given me to do” (John 17:4). The work Jesus was sent to do was to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10), to provide atonement for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him (Romans 3:23-25), and to reconcile sinful men to a holy God. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). None other but God in the flesh could accomplish such a task.
Also completed was the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies, symbols, and foreshadowings of the coming Messiah. From Genesis to Malachi, there are over 300 specific prophecies detailing the coming of the Anointed One, all fulfilled by Jesus. From the “seed” who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, to the prediction of the “messenger” of the Lord (John the Baptist) who would “prepare the way” for the Messiah, all prophecies of Jesus’ life, ministry, and death were fulfilled and finished at the cross.
Although the redemption of mankind is the most important finished task, many other things were finished at the cross. The sufferings Jesus endured while on the earth, and especially in His last hours, were at last over. God’s will for Jesus was accomplished in His perfect obedience to the Father (John 5:30; 6:38). Most importantly, the power of sin and Satan were finished. No longer would mankind have to suffer the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). By raising the “shield of faith” in the One who completed the work of redemption and salvation, we can, by faith, live as new creations in Christ. Jesus’ finished work on the cross was the beginning of new life for all who were once “dead in trespasses and sins” but who are now made “alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1, 5).