Bible Quotation for today/The Wisdom from Above
James 03/13-18: "Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.  But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don't sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic.  Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.  And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace."

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources For November 04/13

Opinion: Thanks, Al-Qaeda/By: Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat/November 04/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources For November 04/13

Lebanese Related News

Suleiman Condemns Tripoli Bus Incident, North Prosecutor Orders Arrest of Gunmen
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Says Christians Should Play Active Role in Resolving Political-Confessional Conflict

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani Says Street Power Would Overtake State's Rule amid Absence of Cabinet

Aoun Lays Responsibility for Protection of Christians on Arab Regimes
Saniora Says Tripoli Van Attackers Should be Brought to Justice

Lebanese Cabinet Minister Says Hope for New Government Not Looming in Horizon

Four arrested over sectarian attack in north Lebanon
1 Tripoli Bus Attack Suspect Arrested, 3 Others Remain at Large
Misqawi-Led Islamic Council Extends Own Term, Urges Qabbani to Resign
Lebanon pays Internet cable fee, rules out blackout
ISF to begin illegal construction crackdown this week

Miscellaneous Reports And News

Lead US negotiator with Iran: Washington hasn't offered any sanctions relief to Tehran

Mystery explosion at Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

AIPAC: ‘Absolutely no pause’ in Iran sanctions lobbying
Khamenei Not Optimistic but Backs Iran Nuclear Talks

US monitored high-priority Israeli military targets

Netanyahu: Palestinian denial of Jews' right to statehood is core of conflict

Ya'alon: Hamas preparing for round of violence

Saudis to boost military support for Syrian rebels, independent of US'
Jordan King Says Syria Refugee Influx Depleting

Kerry in Egypt on First Visit Since Morsi Ouster
U.N., Ashton Condemn Slaying of French Journalists in Mali
Report: Israel to Build Fence along Border with Jordan

Syrian opposition, Arab League chief meet

Bahrain Jails Shiites for Life for 'Iran-linked Cell'

HRW: Egypt not Probing Killing of Protesters

Mystery explosion at Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor

http://www.debka.com/article/23412/Mystery-explosion-at-Iran’s-Arak-heavy-water-reactor
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report November 3, 2013/Tehran did its utmost to conceal the mystery blast which last week struck the heavy water reactor under construction at Arak in western Iran. It is revealed here for the first time by debkafile’s intelligence and Iranian sources. The explosion, whether accidental or not, will delay for a second time the reactor’s first test with real fuel. Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency in August of a previous holdup. The cause of the blast and the extent of the damage it caused have not yet been established. According to the partial information initially reaching our sources, it occurred inside the reactor building when preparations were underway for a test scheduled for this month with artificial fuel and light water. The site of the explosion may have been the large coolant containers and the pressure gauges attached to the reactor’s core.
Iranian Atomic Council experts and intelligence agents are testing four possible causes of the explosion:
1. Sabotage.
2. A virus planted in the computers that control the systems administering the test.
3. An error in engineering calculations in the design of the coolant containers which underestimated their strength for standing up to the required level of pressure.
4. The deliberate sale to Iran of inferior steel materials that were not strong enough to withstand such pressure.
Last August, Iran informed the nuclear watchdog that the test with real fuel would be the final one before the reactor entered its running-in stage. The damage caused by the explosion will have postponed that stage indefinitely.
The Arak reactor, known as IR-40 and designed for a capacity of 40 megawatt, is the cause of deep concern in Israel because it is capable of producing plutonium for use in nuclear bombs as an alternative to enriched uranium.

Lead US negotiator with Iran: Washington hasn't offered any sanctions relief to Tehran
By JPOST.COM STAFF 11/02/2013/The US has not offered any sanctions relief to Iran, the lead US negotiator with Iran, Wendy Sherman told Channel 10 ahead of talks between Tehran and world power scheduled for November 7-8 in Geneva. "We have not offered any sanctions relief on Iran, and we have not removed any sanctions," Sherman said in an excerpt of an interview with Channel 10 set to be broadcast in full on Sunday.
The Obama administration has been seeking to dissuade US lawmakers from imposing fresh sanctions against Iran to allow for flexibility going into the second round of talks of Tehran's nuclear program.
According to the US under secretary of state, Israel's security interests will not be dismissed during the negotiating process, which she said is still in preliminary stages.
In regard to recent allegations that Washington eavesdropped on a number of its allies, Channel 10 asked Sherman whether the US has spied on Israeli political leaders.
While refusing to confirm or the deny the question, Sherman said "Israel has vaunted capabilities in terms of intelligence, which we all are grateful for because we all rely on the superb intelligence community that Israel has to offer the world". "We will all have to talk about these things together, because we all face these challenges together."
Sherman added that she believed Washington would be consulting with Israel, which she called "a very strong intelligence partner," on the matter.
 

AIPAC: ‘Absolutely no pause’ in Iran sanctions lobbying
By JTA 11/03/2013/J.Post/Statement counters recent rumors of lobbying suspension.

WASHINGTON — The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said there would be “no pause, delay or moratorium in our efforts” to seek new sanctions on Iran. The statement late Saturday came after days of reports that top pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC, had agreed in a meeting with senior White House staffers to suspend for 80 days lobbying for increased sanctions on Iran.“AIPAC continues to support congressional action to adopt legislation to further strengthen sanctions and there will absolutely be no pause, delay or moratorium in our efforts,” said the statement by AIPAC President Michael Kassen.Obama administration officials have said that passing intensified sanctions would be counterproductive while renewed negotiations are underway with Iran aimed at making its nuclear program more transparent and ensuring that Iran is not working to make a bomb. Top officials have met with senators in recent days to ask them not to advance intensified sanctions passed over the summer by the US House of Representatives. Congressional proponents of the sanctions, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have said that sanctions forced Iran to the negotiating table and should be upheld to extract meaningful concessions. That outlook was echoed in the statement by AIPAC’s Kassen. “AIPAC supports diplomatic efforts to achieve an end to Iran’s nuclear program,” Kassen said. “Diplomatic talks have been made possible because of the strong sanctions passed by Congress and implemented by the administration,” he said. “Until Iran suspends its enrichment program, additional sanctions are vital for diplomacy to succeed.

Khamenei Not Optimistic but Backs Iran Nuclear Talks
Naharnet/ November 2013/ Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced his support on Sunday for Iran's talks with world powers over its disputed nuclear program while expressing pessimism about them.
"No one should see our negotiating team as compromisers," Khamenei, Iran's top decision-maker on its nuclear drive, was quoted as saying on his official website. "I am not optimistic about the (nuclear) negotiations but, with the grace of God, we will not suffer losses either," he added. A new round of talks between Iranian negotiators and representatives from the so-called P5+1 group of world powers is scheduled in Geneva for November 7 and 8. The second meeting since moderate President Hassan Rouhani took office in August, the talks are aimed at curbing Iran's sensitive nuclear work in exchange for a relief from international sanctions strangling Iran's economy.
All decisions on the nuclear program, which the West suspects is masking a military drive despite repeated Iranian denials, rest with Khamenei. "All the better if the negotiations bear fruit but if there are no results, the country should rely on itself," said Khamenei while criticizing the U.S. policy of approaching the talks on two fronts of sanctions and diplomacy. "The Americans smile and express desire for negotiation; on the other hand, they immediately say that all options are on the table," he said. "We should not trust a smiling enemy." Khamenei also described arch-foe Israel as an "illegitimate and bastard" regime, as he hit out at its alliance with the United States. "The Zionist regime is an illegitimate and bastard regime," Khamenei said. "The Americans have the highest indulgence towards the Zionists and they have to. But we do not share such indulgence," he said.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Netanyahu: Palestinian denial of Jews' right to statehood is core of conflict
By HERB KEINON 11/03/2013/J.Post
PM makes comments at weekly cabinet meeting, one day after Palestinians say Balfour Declaration calling for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine is "biggest political crime in contemporary history." A day after the Palestinian Authority called the Balfour Declaration "a crime against humanity" and called upon Britain to apologize for it, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the Palestinian refusal to recognize the Jewish people's right to a homeland is the root of the ongoing conflict. The Balfour declaration, a letter written 96 years ago on November 2 by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour to Baron Rothschild, called for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.That declaration recognized the right of the Jewish people to its own homeland in Israel," Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting. "There is no doubt that international recognition of the Jewish people's right to its own state in its historic homeland is important; the refusal to recognize us is the root of the conflict." Netanyahu said that in order for there to be peace between Israel and the Palestinians, they needed to recognize the Jewish people's right to a state in its homeland. This means that in a final status agreement they will need to relinquish their so-called right of return and all other claims on Israel, he added The Saudi Gazette reported that On Saturday, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian Ministry of Information issued a statement saying the Palestinian people were "paying the price of the biggest political crime in contemporary history,” and that the declaration was “a mark of shame on humanity.” The ministry said that the declaration “began the Zionists’ process of ethnically cleansing the Palestinians from their homeland, which continues until today.”It added that “Britain and the entire world must recognize the usurped Palestinian rights because everything that has befallen Palestine – it’s partition, the aggression, the suppression, the settlements, the arrests, the separation wall, the siege on Gaza, and the millions of Palestinians living in exile – was made possible because of the Balfour Declaration.”The Palestinian Ministry of Information's English website on Thursday wrote that Balfour Declaration "continues to serve as the bases for a racial discrimination system forcibly inflicted on Palestine and the Palestinians putting former South Africa Apartheid regime to shame.
"To add injury to the insult," the statement continued, " many of the superpowers continue supporting the Israeli occupation to the cradle of Christianity and sacred shrines of Islam, an occupation disgraced with flagrant violations to human rights and democracy." No mention was made of Israel's importance to Judaism. Netanyahu did not refer to the Palestinian statement during his comments Sunday to the cabinet. He did stress, however, that any agreement with the Palestinians would necessitate the Jordan River remaining Israel's "security border." Israel's demand that the IDF retain a security presence along the Jordan River is believed to be one of the major sticking points in the current negotiations with the Palestinians. Netanyahu also related to Iran during his comments, saying the Islamic Republic continues calling for Israel's destruction. He pointed out that Monday marks the 34th anniversary to the Iranians taking over the US embassy in Teheran, a day marked in Iran as "Death to America Day." "This makes clear that what needs to be done is to continue the pressure on Iran," he said. "The pressure is what brought them to the negotiations, and I am convinced that if the pressure is sustained, and not weakened, Iran will dismantle its military nuclear capability, but if the pressure is weakened, Iran will progress toward that goal."Netanyahu stressed that Israel was committed to preventing Iran from achieving their goal of nuclear weapons.

Opinion: Thanks, Al-Qaeda
By: Mshari Al-Zaydi/Asharq Alawsat
Former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahab is useful, because he is Assad’s mouthpiece in Lebanon. A few days ago, Wahab spoke out on the Mayadeen satellite channel, saying he did not expect “the Geneva II conference to be held due to the absence of the Syrian regime’s opposition, because those in Syria were ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] and Al-Nusra and other armed groups.” He called on the Syrian government to “negotiate with the opposition, which rejects foreign intervention, away from Geneva II,” by which he means the “domesticated” opposition. Wahab is bitter at Saudi Arabia because it is, as he puts it, “acting on impulse without calculation, trying to unify the Syrian opposition.” He concluded with a revealing comment that exposes the thinking of people like him, saying that Assad’s regime will remain in power “even if one million people are killed in the Middle East.”
The important thing about the words of the Assad camp spokesman is the reference to Al-Qaeda’s ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. That organization is more vicious than Bashar’s Shabiha and his brother Maher’s brigades towards the revolutionaries in Syria, because it is based on the Takfirist ideology and shedding the blood of others.  ISIS directs its guns at the “infidel” rebels to monopolize jihad in Syria. This has provided Assad and Iran with a golden propaganda opportunity, which showed all regime enemies to be “liver eaters,” a reference to a video of a rebel eating the internal organ of a dead Syrian soldier, as they were described by Hassan Nasrallah in an interesting speech.What is strange is that a few days ago, during the exchange of Lebanese prisoners who were supporters of Hezbollah with two Turkish pilots, the Lebanese media published comments by Wiam Wahab in which he said: “If there were thanks to be made for this, they should be made to ISIS, who destroyed the North Storm Brigade and embarrassed the Turks who supervised the detention of the Lebanese.”
Here, we see ISIS becoming the subject of praise because they destroyed a faction that rebelled against Assad, the North Storm Brigade, because it was not affiliated to Al-Qaeda.Wiam Wahab has revealed all. He revealed that the Assad regime has benefited from Al-Qaeda’s presence alongside the opposition in Syria, whether by prior planning or not.Assad, Khamenei, Nasrallah and Putin—and we can add to them the dithering Obama—are all against a Syrian revolution not centered on Al-Qaeda.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi Says Christians Should Play Active Role in Resolving Political-Confessional Conflict
Naharnet /Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Sunday that Lebanon's Christians should not be bystanders in the sectarian war, rather they should make an initiative to resolve it. The Christians “cannot and do not have the right to be bystanders in the ongoing political-confessional conflict,” al-Rahi said in his sermon during mass in Bkirki. On the contrary, they should initiate to resolve the conflict by finding ways to form a new government and reaching an agreement on a new electoral draft-law that is fair to all of the country's factions. They should also work for holding the parliamentary elections as soon as possible and do all they can to elect a new president next year, al-Rahi said. The patriarch rejected turning Lebanon into a “commodity” in the hands of local and foreign parties. He also refused to make a country a captive in the hands of warring parties. Al-Rahi called for mutual respect in a civilian state capable of keeping security and stability and providing equality to all. He slammed what he called the “mentality of fiefdoms,” the resort to consensual security, and the proliferation of illegitimate weapons. The patriarch regretted the loos of innocent lives due to the political-sectarian chaos in the country and mainly in the northern city of Tripoli. “Let the officials who are paralyzing the constitutional institutions know that they are responsible for all these crimes,” he said.
 

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani Says Street Power Would Overtake State's Rule amid Absence of Cabinet
Naharnet /Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani warned on Sunday that “the governments of streets” will take control of Lebanon if the Lebanese rival parties failed to form a new cabinet. In his message on the occasion of Islamic New Year, Qabbani said: “If a fair cabinet was not formed in Lebanon soon … then the governments of streets, neighborhoods and regions will be in charge.”Premier-designate Tammam Salam has so far failed to form his cabinet over conditions and counter conditions set by the rival March 8 and March 14 camps. The Mufti criticized politicians who he said continue to challenge each other dragging along their supporters. “The infection is being transmitted and is turning into enmities between people and groups in the streets and mainly in (the northern city of) Tripoli," he said. Qabbani warned that all Lebanese would someday regret their actions but at a time when remorse would be useless. The regret would come “when regions and neighborhoods drown in the sea of blood and murder” based on sectarian identities, he said. “It has already started … and it has expanded,” he said. Qabbani urged the Lebanese army to take stern measures to impose the state's rule of law, which without it Lebanon would head toward chaos and enter the region's wars. Tripoli has for years witnessed deadly fighting between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen. But on Saturday, the enmity between them took a new turn when masked men attacked a van carrying civilians from Jabal Mohsen in al-Tabbaneh area and injured six of them.

Suleiman Condemns Tripoli Bus Incident, North Prosecutor Orders Arrest of Gunmen
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman on Saturday condemned an armed attack on a bus carrying Jabal Mohsen residents that left at least six people wounded earlier in the day, as a judicial warrant for the arrest of the culprits was issued. Suleiman also held phone talks with Army chief General Jean Qahwaji and Internal Security Forces acting chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous to inquire about the incident's details and the measures taken by security forces to contain the situation, according to the National News Agency. The president called on the relevant authorities to “pursue the perpetrators and refer them to the judiciary.”Meanwhile, NNA said North Lebanon's prosecutor Judge Omar Hamze issued a judicial warrant ordering all security agencies to conduct the necessary investigations in order to identify and arrest the attackers At least six Jabal Mohsen residents were wounded when a van carrying 14 passengers came under gunfire at al-Mallouleh intersection in Tripoli earlier on Saturday, according to NNA. "The gunmen opened fire at the bus and then beat some of the workers traveling in it. All nine Alawites had either gunshot or beating wounds and were taken to hospital for treatment," a security official told Agence France Presse. Earlier on Saturday, Arab Democratic Party spokesman Abdul Latif Saleh told al-Jadeed television that “14 workers from Jabal Mohsen were kidnapped and shot in Bab al-Tabbaneh as they were returning in a bus from their workplaces.”On Wednesday, sporadic sniper gunfire returned to Tripoli and tensions surged after gunmen shot and wounded four Jabal Mohsen residents in the city despite an army security plan that had managed to end seven days of clashes on Monday. Long-running tensions between the rival districts were stoked further after the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau summoned ex-MP Ali Eid -- leader of the Arab Democratic Party, Jabal Mohsen's main political and armed force --for interrogation in the case of the deadly twin bombings that hit two Sunni mosques in the city in August. On October 14, seven people involved in the August bombings were charged, including three in custody. The majority are from Jabal Mohsen. Forty-five people were killed and over 800 wounded in the twin bombings. The Arab Democratic Party has denied any involvement in the attacks and stressed that the suspects are not members of the party while slamming media leaks attributed to the Intelligence Bureau. On Thursday, the Islamic Alawite Council noted that “it is unjust to accuse the entire Alawite sect" of the bombings, noting that "this cannot be accepted by any Muslim."And in remarks published Thursday in As Safir newspaper, Arab Democratic Party top official Rifaat Eid, Ali's son, declared that the accusations against his father are not based on any facts and that they are part of a Saudi Arabian agenda to settle scores with Syria.

Saniora Says Tripoli Van Attackers Should be Brought to Justice
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora condemned on Sunday the attack on residents of a rival neighborhood in the northern city of Tripoli, saying the perpetrators should be brought to justice. “This heinous crime that targeted Lebanese civilians from Jabal Mohsen only serves Lebanon's enemies and reminds us of the suspicious crimes that it has been recently witnessing,” Saniora said in a statement. The former prime minister was referring to an armed attack a day earlier on a van carrying passengers from mostly Alawite Jabal Mohsen. At least six men were wounded on Saturday when the van with eight passengers on board came under attack by masked gunmen in the area of al-Tabbaneh near Dar al-Salam school. The assailants took the passengers at gunpoint to local streets in the area and shot six of them in their feet. Jabal Mohsen's residents are “our brethren,” Saniora said in his statement, adding the assailants “should be tried.” He stressed that al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc “condemns and rejects” such a crime, saying the judicial authorities should carry out the necessary investigation and punish the perpetrators.Tripoli is the scene of frequent Syria-linked battles, that pit Sunnis from Bab al-Tabbaneh against Alawites in Jabal Mohsen.

Four arrested over sectarian attack in north Lebanon
November 03, 2013/The Daily Star /TRIPOLI, Lebanon: The Army arrested three Lebanese and one Syrian over their involvement in an attack on a bus carrying Alawite residents in Tripoli, raising fears of renewed deadly clashes in the northern city. Head of the Future bloc MP Fouad Siniora condemned the incident on behalf of his party, saying that the perpetrators should be tried. “This heinous crime which targeted Lebanese civilians from Jabal Mohsen serves the interest of Lebanon’s enemies, as it reminds us of the suspicious orchestrated acts which took place during the unfortunate and tragic events Lebanese have experienced,” Siniora said in a statement.
“Jabal Mohsen residents are Lebanese citizens and brothers in ths nation, and whoever targets them is a criminal who has nothing to do with Tripoli’s residents and should be tried,” he added. President Michel Sleiman met Sunday with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati over developments in Tripoli while caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel later joined the meeting at Baabda Palace.
Charbel updated officials about the situation on the ground and the measures taken to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the bus attack, Sleiman’s office said.
The Army’s general directorate said Saturday night the military apprehended three Lebanese identified as Khaled Jamal Al-Rai, Omar Mohammad Abdel-Aziz al-Ahmad, Mustafa Abdel-Hamid Jawhar and Syrian national Yehya Samir Mohammad for their role in the attack. The suspects took part in beating and wounding six Alawites from the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood who were commuting on a public bus through the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh Saturday afternoon. Gunmen blocked the path of the bus and then forcefully dragged the Jabal Mohsen residents out on to the street, where they proceeded to beat and then later shoot at the men.
The sectarian attack violated the relative calm which has prevailed in the city after the Army along with other security agencies were able to partially contain fighting between supporters and opponents of President Bashar Assad.
Clashes between the pro-regime Jabal Mohsen and the anti-regime Bab al-Tabbaneh erupted on Oct. 28 and lasted for a week, killing16 people and wounding over 90 mostly by sniper fire. Last month’s fighting was the 17th round of deadly clashes between the old rivals since the crisis in Syria began in March of 2011. The bus incident prompted a group of men from the northern village of Heesa in Akkar to block a road Saturday night in the area in protest of the attack on Alawites in Tripoli. The Future Movement in Tripoli condemned what it said were repeated attacks against the Alawite community in Lebanon’s second largest city, particularly Saturday’s assault, saying such behavior serves the interest of the Syrian regime. "What happened is not at all related to the traditions of Tripoli and its residence of all sects ... the Alawites are part of the city's fabric and represent along with the Christians and Sunnis the fate of this city,” a statement by the party which holds influence in Tripoli said. “The incident serves the interest of the Syrian regime and a fifth column is behind the sectarian tensions which aim to divert attention away from the criminals behind the Tripoli bombings,” it added. The Future Movement was referring to a recent controversy surrounding the Secretary General of the pro-Assad Arab Democratic Party Ali Eid who defied a judicial summons over his role in helping a suspect in the Tripoli bombings flee the country. On Aug, 23, two car bombs exploded almost simultaneously outside two separate Sunni mosques in the city killing at least 47 people and wounding over 100. Seven people including a member of the ADP based in Jabal Mohsen were charged over the blasts with preliminary investigation linking the suspects to the Syrian intelligence and the party. Eid’s driver was arrested last week by Army intelligence near the border with Syria and allegedly confessed to helping Ahmad Merhi, a suspect in the explosions, flee the country. The driver said Eid had tasked him to do so.
 

1 Tripoli Bus Attack Suspect Arrested, 3 Others Remain at Large
Naharnet /The army has arrested one of the suspects in the bus attack in the northern city of Tripoli and identified the rest of the assailants, the military command said. The army leadership said in its communique late Saturday that Yehya Samir Mohammed, a Syrian, has been arrested and that soldiers were pursuing the remaining three suspects. It identified them as Khaled Jamal al-Rahi, Omar Mohammed Abdulaziz al-Ahmed and Mustafa al-Hamid Jawhar, who are all Lebanese. The communique said the army was able to arrest Mohammed after carrying out several raids.At least six residents from the Tripoli neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen were wounded on Saturday when a van carrying eight passengers came under attack by masked gunmen in the area of al-Tabbaneh near Dar al-Salam school, the army said in a previous communique. The assailants took the passengers at gunpoint to local streets in the area and shot six of them in their feet, the military said. Their injuries were not life threatening, it added. Tripoli is the scene of frequent Syria-linked battles, that pit Sunnis from Bab al-Tabbaneh against Alawites in Jabal Mohsen. Most Sunnis support Syria's revolt against President Bashar Assad, while Alawites, who belong to the same sect as Assad, back his regime. The latest fighting ended when the army deployed along Syria Street, which separates the two districts and acts as the makeshift frontline. An Nahar daily said Sunday that the army has advised residents of both Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen who reside in the frontline to clear their homes.
But according to LBCI, a military source denied the report. An Nahar also quoted Arab Democratic Party official Abdul Latif Saleh as saying that the consequences of Saturday's attack would be dire if the situation does not change. He urged President Michel Suleiman and Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji to “quickly interfere to resolve the problem of attacks.” Jabal Mohsen is the Arab Democratic Party's stronghold.

ISF to begin illegal construction crackdown this week
November 03, 2013/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The Internal Security Forces will take over the task of cracking down on illegal construction after municipalities failed to do so, the security agency said in a statement Sunday.
Based on a circular by caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, acting ISF Chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous issued a decision and tasked the agency once again with preventing and demolishing illegal construction starting Nov. 6. “The decision comes in light of the municipalities' failure in combatting the phenomenon of illegal construction on Lebanese soil," the statement said. The ISF also asked citizens to comply with construction regulations. Charbel has said it was the duty of the municipalities not the police to deal with construction violations, saying such tasks were taking up valuable time from the agency. The ISF has continuously struggled to halt illegal construction in the country, with some members of the force having suffered injuries during demolitions of these homes.The penalty for illegal constructions usually entails a halt to the work at the construction site and the confiscation of building machinery.

Aoun Lays Responsibility for Protection of Christians on Arab Regimes
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said Sunday it was the duty of Arab regimes to protect Christians in the Orient, warning against the rise of Salafist groups. “The responsibility to preserve the security of the Christians in the Orient lies on the Arab regimes,” Aoun told the Christians of the Orient conference that closed on Sunday. He called on them to appease the fears of the Christians. “Our societies today are suffering from the return of Salafism and it's our role to raise our voice and issue warnings,” Aoun said. Aoun said the Christians should resort to a democratic state amid the rise of Takfiri groups and totalitarianism. He also said the diminishing role of Christians is tantamount to “racism.”“Takfiri movements contradict in their thought all types of human rights and reject democracy,” he warned. The Christians see a secular state as the last option over the threat posed by Salafists and after the fall of Arab nationalism, he said. “A strong state could not be built without change and reform,” Aoun told the conference's participants.

Lebanese Cabinet Minister Says Hope for New Government Not Looming in Horizon
Naharnet/Contacts between the rival parties is frozen due to the security incidents in the country and the March 14 alliance's insistence for Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria, a minister in the resigned cabinet has said. An Nahar daily quoted the minister as saying in remarks published Sunday that there was not yet any sign of hope for a solution to the cabinet crisis. The efforts exerted to form the new government are “complicated” amid Hizbullah's involvement in the civil war in Syria, the minister, who was not identified, said. “Real contact between the different parties is almost frozen despite some meetings” held between them, the minister told An Nahar. He said the March 14 request for Hizbullah fighters to pull out of Syria is “righteous” but should be accompanied by a worksheet or a document to reach a certain understanding on it. The minister ruled out the return of stability to the northern city of Tripoli. But he hoped for security in it “because its residents don't deserve the attack on them and their security.”Different rounds of clashes between gunmen of rival sects in Tripoli have left hundreds of casualties in the past few years. The clashes pit gunmen from two impoverished Tripoli neighborhoods against each other, areas that are home to opponents and supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Bab al-Tabbaneh district is largely Sunni, like Syria's rebels. The other neighborhood, Jabal Mohsen, mostly has residents of Assad's Alawite sect. The latest security incident came on Saturday when at least six residents from Jabal Mohsen were wounded when a van carrying eight passengers came under attack by masked gunmen in the area of al-Tabbaneh.

Misqawi-Led Islamic Council Extends Own Term, Urges Qabbani to Resign
Naharnet /The Higher Islamic Council led by ex-minister Omar Misqawi on Saturday said it has decided to extend its own term until June 2015 and called on Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani to resign to "preserve the unity of Muslims."The meeting at the Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut was attended by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, ex-PM Fouad Saniora and the members of the council, state-run National News Agency said. "Based on the Higher Council's decision taken in Nov. 2009, in the presence of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora, Salim al-Hoss and Najib Miqati, it has been decided to extend the term of the Council whose mandate had expired in 2009, with the aim of allowing the council to conduct the financial probe that has preoccupied the media in addition to restructuring the endowment and fatwa institution,” said a statement issued by the council. The council noted that the state's Shoura Council had issued several resolutions invalidating decisions made by Qabbani over the “violation of regulations.”
It said that the mufti's call for new elections and his declaration of the results that ensued were null and void at the legal level and aimed at “creating chaos and sowing discord among Muslims.”
“The council reiterates its call for His Eminence, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbni, to submit his resignation out of keenness on the unity of Muslims and the higher Islamic interest,” it added.

Lebanon pays Internet cable fee, rules out blackout
November 02, 2013/ The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The finance and telecommunication ministries paid Saturday Lebanon’s dues toward the IMEWE, an international submarine communications cable needed for high-speed Internet, and dismissed fears that a failure of payment would have caused disruptions to the service. “At 11 a.m. [Saturday] the telecommunications and finance ministries managed to transfer $3.2 million, which is what Lebanon owes toward the international submarine cable IMEWE,” according to a statement from caretaker Telecoms Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui. “The [telecoms] ministry renews its pledge that it will remain the guardian in terms of ensuring the smooth operation of the sector that has become central to the economy and security,” it said. “The important thing is that the positive cooperation between the ministries of telecommunications and finance solved the problem of [securing] Lebanon’s dues toward the international [IMEWE] cable,” it added.  The statement also noted, in an apparent response to reports that a failure to pay the fees would have resulted in significant disruptions to Internet in the country, that Lebanon had a backup in place. “We would like the Lebanese to know that the Telecommunications Ministry had secured alternative international capacity for Lebanon via the ALEXANDROS cable. Therefore, Lebanon would not have faced disruptions because of the alternative measures in place,” the statement said. In April, the Telecoms Ministry and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority announced sharing capacity on the ALEXANDROS submarine cable subsystem between Cyprus, Egypt and France. Al-Akhbar newspaper’s front page article Saturday warned that Lebanon may have faced significant Internet disruptions if the Telecoms Ministry failed to pay $1.6 million to the consortium behind the IMEWE cable before a Nov. 3 deadline. The paper said 60 percent of Lebanon’s Internet capacity could have been affected.
 

Kerry in Egypt on First Visit Since Morsi Ouster
Naharnet/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Cairo on Sunday pressing for reforms during the highest-level American visit to Egypt since the ouster of the country's first democratically elected president.
The Egyptian military's removal of Mohammed Morsi in July led the U.S. to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in aid.
The State Department apparently expected a frosty reception for Kerry, especially with tensions running high on the eve of Monday's scheduled start of Morsi's trial on charges of inciting murder. The department refused to confirm Kerry's visit until he landed in Cairo, even though Egypt's official news agency reported the impending trip three days earlier. The secrecy was unprecedented for a secretary of state's travel to Egypt, for decades one of the closest U.S. allies in the Arab world, and highlighted the deep rifts today between Washington and Cairo. Kerry last was in Egypt in March, when he urged Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-backed government to enact sweeping economic reforms and govern in a more inclusive manner. Those calls went unheeded. Simmering public unhappiness with his rule boiled over when the powerful Egyptian military deposed Morsi on July 3 and established an interim government. The Obama administration was caught in a bind over whether to condemn the ouster as a coup and cut the annual $1.3 billion in U.S. military assistance that such a determination would legally require.The U.S. waffled for months before deciding last month to suspend most big-ticket military aid such as tanks, helicopters and fighter jets, while declining to make a coup determination. The U.S. also is withholding $260 million in budget support to the government.
Egypt is receiving billions of dollars in aid from wealthy Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But Egyptian authorities reacted angrily to the U.S. aid suspension, declaring it a new low point in ties that have been strained since the popular revolt that unseated authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
Egypt's foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, said last month that U.S.-Egyptian relations were in "turmoil" and warned that the strain could affect the entire Middle East.
With U.S. influence ebbing, Kerry's message about the importance of economic and constitutional reforms was expected to be met with suspicion, if not outright hostility, by Egyptian leaders and a population deeply mistrustful of Washington's motives. Many Egyptians accuse the Obama administration of taking sides in their domestic political turmoil; American officials adamantly deny it.
In meetings with Egypt's Army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the interim president, Adly Mansour, and Fahmy,Kerry intended to underscore the necessity of democratic transition through a transparent and inclusive constitutional process, and free and fair parliamentary and presidential elections.
Only once progress is made on those, American officials say, will the U.S. consider restoring the suspended aid. They say Kerry is eager to assure Egyptians that the U.S. considers Egypt an important friend and bulwark of regional stability, notably because of its peace treaty with Israel. An initial administration attempt at outreach to post-Morsi Egypt — providing $60 million to spur private investment in Egypt's flailing economy — has been held up in Congress. U.S. officials traveling with Kerry said he also would stress the importance of human rights, particularly freedom of the press and assembly, and the role of civic leaders in ensuring a pluralistic society. Kerry's visit comes at a critical time in Egypt's tense and fractured domestic political situation.
On Friday, a private Egyptian television station halted the airing of the latest episode of a widely popular political satire program after it came under fire for mocking the ultranationalist, pro-military fervor gripping the country. The show's host, Bassem Youssef, is often compared to U.S. comedian Jon Stewart. The broadcaster said Youssef and his producer violated its editorial policies. Also, Morsi's trial was set to begin Monday, a day after Kerry's scheduled departure. Morsi supporters planned widespread protests on the day of the trial. Security concerns were so high that the venue for the trial was not yet formally announced. It was expected to be held in a heavily secured police academy in Cairo. U.S. officials said the timing of the trial and Kerry's visit were purely coincidental, but that Kerry was likely to impress on his hosts the importance of due process and transparency in all judicial proceedings. Egypt was Kerry's first stop on a nine-day tour of the Middle East and Europe. The trip is widely seen as a damage control mission to ease disagreements between the U.S. and its friends over Syria, Iran and the revelations of widespread U.S. surveillance activities around the globe. From Egypt, Kerry planned to travel to Saudi Arabia, Poland, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Morocco.
Source/Agence France PresseAssociated Press

U.N., Ashton Condemn Slaying of French Journalists in Mali
Naharnet/The United Nations Security Council has "strongly condemned" the kidnapping and slaying of two French radio journalists in Mali's troubled northeast. The journalists -- Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon of Radio France International (RFI) -- were found dead after being kidnapped by armed men in the northern city of Kidal. The two had traveled there on Saturday to interview a spokesman for the Tuareg separatist group the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), and were abducted outside his home, according to their employer. In a statement late Saturday, the Security Council members "expressed their condolences to the family of the victims" as well as to the French government. "In accordance with international humanitarian law, journalists, media professionals and associated personnel engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict are generally considered as civilians and shall be respected and protected as such," the statement read. The Security Council demanded "that all parties to an armed conflict comply fully with the obligations applicable to them under international humanitarian law, including as related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict."They also called on Mali to "swiftly" investigate the case "and bring the perpetrators to justice."The Security Council members also "reiterated their full support" for the U.N. mission in Mali and the French supporting forces, "and called on all parties to cooperate fully" with them. A spokesman for European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said there was "great sadness" on hearing news of the incident. The spokesman added the deaths were a "heinous crime" which must not go "unpunished.” The press group Reporters without Borders called the killings "an unspeakable and revolting act.”Source/Agence France Presse