LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 30/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:17-29. Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."  The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
 America’s Influence Declining in Middle East/By: Joseph Puder/Pyjama Media/August 28, 2009
Visa nightmare. By: Hayeon Lee, Now Lebanon , August 29, 2009
Fiery rhetoric... and then what?Al-Ahram Weekly 29/08/09
 Israel threatens Lebanon and Obama-Al-Ahram Weekly  29/08/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 29/09
 France Praises Syrian Role; Criticizes Aoun-Naharnet
 Hariri Ready to Meet Aoun at Baabda or Parliament-Naharnet
 Bassil Reacts to Hariri Initiative: Every Positive Move Will Be Met with a Similar Move-Naharnet
 Alain Aoun: Aoun considering Hariri’s initiative, received a phone call from Sleiman/Now Lebanon
 Preparations Underway to for Aoun-Sfeir Rapprochement-Naharnet
 Hariri-Jumblat Relations Back to Normal-Naharnet
 Parliamentary Majority Meets on Monday to Support Hariri-Naharnet
 Aoun Not Expected to Attend Baabda Iftar; Will Dispatch MPs Instead-Naharnet
 IAEA extends probe of alleged secret Syria atom site-Reuters
 Hezbollah calls for action on Cabinet-United Press International
 Aoun deals blow to hopes for cabinet breakthrough-Daily Star
Lebanese leaders welcome UNIFIL mandate extension-Daily Star
Hizbullah seeks to calm storm, expresses regret over Fadlallah insults-Daily Star
Gemayel calls for indirect border talks with Israel-Daily Star
Justice Ministry campaigns to abolish death penalty-Daily Star
Jumblatt offers condolences to Kennedy family-Daily Star
Army hands Israeli trespasser over to UNIFIL-Daily Star
Solana to visit Beirut during Middle East tour-Daily Star
 Lebanon's industrial exports drop 25 percent in July-Daily Star
ISF arrests robbery, murder suspect in Tabarja-Daily Star
Assailants attack members of Judicial Police-Daily Star
Hand grenade rocks Tariq al-Jdideh-Daily Star
 Lion cub found dumped in Beirut wasteland-Daily Star
Fighting an ongoing battle against drugs in the Bekaa-Daily Star
Hizbullah refuses the assaults against Fadlallah
 Geagea defends the Patriarch: Lebanon’s glory bestowed upon him
Muslim, Christian clerics commemorate 31st memory of Imam Sadr’s disappearance
Hashem: Gemayel is apparently nostalgic for May 17
 UAE seizes N. Korean arms ship bound for Iran/Israeli News

France Praises Syrian Role; Criticizes Aoun
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has lauded Syria for not "interfering" in Lebanon's internal affairs while criticizing MP Michel Aoun for setting "impossible" preconditions that are hindering the formation of a government. He was speaking at a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the 17th conference for French ambassadors. Koucnher said that Syrian President Bashar Assad "repeated three times that he was not insisting on veto power or on supporting Hizbullah."He pointed to Syria's "new diplomatic approach and its openness to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, prior recent accusations." However, he added, this "does not mean the absolute absence of Syrian interference in the formation process in Lebanon." On Iran, Kouchner did not rule out "a negative Iranian interference" pointing to "the continuous flow of Iranian weapons to Hizbullah which possesses 15,000 missiles."
He accused Iran of "continuing to support extremists groups" in reference to Hizbullah, Hamas and other. "It is not surprising that a government shape-up is taking so long," he said of Iran's interference, adding that a formation could take "several months." For his part, President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a "government of national unity as soon as possible."Meanwhile, official French sources told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that a government is expected to see the light by end of Ramadan. Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:20

Hariri Ready to Meet Aoun at Baabda or Parliament
Naharnet/Premier-designate Saad Hariri launched a new initiative on Friday by inviting Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun for talks at Baabda palace or parliament.
"Since Gen. Michel Aoun does not want to come to Qoreitem or Center House, I am ready to meet him" at Baabda palace or parliament, Hariri said during an Iftar. "I hope this initiative will receive a positive response because the country is more important than all of us," he added. Hariri then called President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri to inform him about his initiative. During the Iftar, the PM-designate also said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is not politicized and stressed he will respect its rulings. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 22:40

Preparations Underway to for Aoun-Sfeir Rapprochement
Naharnet/Preparations are underway to restore ties between MP Michel Aoun and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, sources close to Rabieh told al-Akhbar daily in comments published Saturday. "Deliberations are not final yet between Bkirki and Rabieh, but there is a positive mood on both sides," the sources said. Both sides are awaiting the end of the government file before moving forward with their rapprochement. The sources denied "there was a mediator between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Maronite Patriarchy" adding that contacts were "direct." Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 10:18

Hariri-Jumblat Relations Back to Normal
Naharnet/Premier-designate Saad Hariri and MP Walid Jumblat have restored normal ties, which was evident during a meeting between them after the former's return from Saudi Arabia, local press said Saturday. As Safir daily quoted informed sources as saying that Jumblat was insisting on the need to "vent tensions on the domestic front on all levels. And he personally informed Hariri of that need." The paper said Jumblat also stressed on the need to "exert efforts to reach reconciliations in the Mountain, Beirut and any other region to address remnants of May 7 (2008) events or Aicha Bakkar incidents." According to the sources, "steps on the ground will be taken soon toward activating the reconciliations process, specifically in Beirut."
Jumblat told As Safir he was "relieved that Hariri responded to reconciliation calls" and expressed hope for their expansion. On the government formation, he said: "In reality I do not know what is going on. I do not want to enter wrangling especially that there is no reasonable explanation as to why the shape-up is being delayed." Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:47

Alain Aoun: Aoun considering Hariri’s initiative, received a phone call from Sleiman
August 29, 2009 /Now Lebanon
Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency on Saturday that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is considering Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s invitation to meet at either Baabda or the parliament building. Aoun said the FPM leader will personally respond to the initiative soon. Aoun also revealed President Michel Sleiman telephoned Michel Aoun to discuss Hariri’s invitation. “The meeting should provide the FPM with guarantees in regard to dealing with the movement as a true partner in the new cabinet,” he said. Aoun said the FPM leader will not attend the Iftar dinner which the president has organized due to unrelated political reasons and affirmed that other Change and Reform bloc MPs will attend the Iftar dinner. Aoun called on all parties not to drag the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in their political disputes. He also commented on the campaign launched against Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, saying that religious figures who adopt political rhetoric should expect people to responded to them. He also called on all parties to respect all religious leaders in order to preserve co-existence in Lebanon

Bassil Reacts to Hariri Initiative: Every Positive Move Will Be Met with a Similar Move
Naharnet/Interim Telecoms Minister Jebran Bassil said in comments published Saturday that each "positive step, be that in words or deeds" will be met by similar positivity, in reference to an initiative launched by premier-designate to meet MP Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace or Parliament. Speaking to As-Safir daily, Bassil said: "The venue of the meeting is not important. What is important is to agree on the rights and the meaning of real partnership and national unity.""In any case," he said, "anything linked to what the premier-designate says is left to General Aoun's discretion. He will give the final answer." In separate comments with An Nahar daily, Bassil said Aoun "must review premier-designate Saad Hariri's proposal before personally commenting on it." "Formalities are not important. What is important is for us to agree on the meaning for unity and national partnership and translate that into a government that guarantees each team's rights," he added. The telecoms ministers said Hariri's initiative "addressed the form not the content of the government shape-up and is being handled as such because we are looking for a solution not a problem. We do not want a solution to the form but to the content. Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:32

Parliamentary Majority Meets on Monday to Support Hariri
Naharnet/Parliamentary majority lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting at Premier-designate Saad Hariri's Center house in downtown Beirut on Monday to declare support for the Mustaqbal movement leader. According to information received by Naharnet, the 71 MPs who represent the March 14 forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Democratic Gathering in addition to MPs Michel Murr, Ahmed Karami and former PM Najib Miqati will be present. Following the meeting, a statement will express support for the premier-designate's efforts to form a cabinet and will stress the parliamentary majority's backing for Hariri despite the latest rift between the March 14 forces and Druze leader Walid Jumblat. The meeting comes following contacts in the last few days to repair ties between Hariri and Jumblat and after channels of dialogue were opened between the Progressive Socialist Party and March 14.
Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 21:10

Solana in Beirut Next Week
Naharnet/EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana makes a four-day trip to the Middle East, including Lebanon, next week as part of renewed international efforts to try to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, his office said Friday. Solana, the 27-nation bloc's top diplomatic representative, will hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Sunday, a statement said. The following day he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as President Shimon Peres and the Jewish state's foreign and defense ministers. On Tuesday, Solana will travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as EU officials working in the occupied territories. He then moves on to Beirut, for meetings with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and his designated successor Saad Hariri, as well as Speaker Nabih Berri. His tour ends in Cairo Wednesday with talks with President Hosni Mubarak.(AFP) Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 20:09

Visa nightmare
Hayeon Lee,
Now Lebanon , August 29, 2009
Lebanese passports (AFP/Anwar Amro)
Nadia* is Lebanese and has been married to a Lebanese-Englishman for over 15 years. She is a mother of two teenage children and works at a university. She and her husband have lived in Lebanon for their entire marriage, and while Nadia’s children have been British citizens since birth, Nadia has yet to obtain a British passport. In order to get one she would have to live in the UK for more than one year.
Despite her husband’s nationality, Nadia must obtain a visa whenever she travels to her husband’s home country. Although she has always been treated civilly at the British embassy, she says the process always makes her feel like a criminal because of the personal information she must provide. Required documents include a letter of employment, bank statements, copies of plane reservation and even an invitation from someone in the UK, “Even though my husband is British!”
Still, the most irritating part of it all, for Nadia is the fact that other Lebanese women who are married to men of EU nationalities enter the UK on free visas. This is part of an EU agreement, in which non-European spouses of Europeans can obtain visas within the EU zone without having to pay extra fees. But this doesn’t apply to women who marry men from the UK and Nadia must pay $500 for a 10-year multiple-entry visas, or $115 for a 6-month multiple entry visa. Nadia opts for the latter, as she does not regularly visit the UK
“I can understand governments and countries have to look after their borders,” says Nadia, “But just because you’re Lebanese, you’re tagged, and they scrutinize you more than any other nationality.”
But the worst of Nadia’s visa nightmares came recently, when she had to apply for an Irish visa. Nadia was invited to her husband’s niece’s wedding, which will take place next month, and although she will go to the UK first, she was told that she would still need a visa to Ireland. With only a few weeks left until the wedding, Nadia immediately set out to obtain her Irish visa as soon as her British one arrived. But with no Irish representation in Lebanon, Nadia had to either go to the consulate in Syria or to the embassy in Egypt.
Ironically, going to Egypt was out of the question, because Nadia would have to apply for a visa, which is known to take at least a week. Because Syria is one of the few Arab countries that do not require Lebanese to get a visa, Nadia took a day trip to Damascus alone in a taxi, dealt with the border hassle, and when she arrived, she presented all her papers – including a copy of the wedding invitation – to the consulate. If all goes well, the Irish embassy in Cairo should be receiving her documents from Damascus, where she will have to again travel to once the visa arrives. Nadia wanted to ask more questions on about whether she could obtain an Irish visa at the border, considering her specific circumstances, but she decided it was better not to. In fact, no one really gave her a straight answer, except that indeed, even if she was married for 15 years to a British man, she should get an Irish visa. “I didn’t want to push it more and risk my trip, and say, ‘Can’t I get [the visa] from the border?’ I said, ok, I’ll just go and apply for a visa. We’re used to it,” she says.
“Everybody comes here in Lebanon and they don’t need a visa. Okay, I can go and get a visa, but ask me for reasonable information. I have to get all sorts of papers to get a visa,” Nadia complains. It is not an uncommon tale when it comes to Lebanese getting visas to foreign countries, even Arab ones.

Hashem: Gemayel is apparently nostalgic for May 17
Date: August 28th, 2009/Future News
Liberation and Development bloc member, MP Kassem Hashem, considered the suggestion of Kataeb leader, former President Amine Gemayel to hold indirect talks with Israel, nostalgia to the time of the May 17 agreement. “It seems that Kataeb leader, Gemayel, the hero of ‘May 17’ agreement is nostalgic to the time of negotiations with Israel. But Shebaa farms and the Ghajar village are Lebanese lands and therefore need no negotiations, but rather the implementation of international resolutions,” Hashem said in a statement on Friday.
On May 17, 1983, Israel and Lebanon signed a peace agreement in Naquora on condition that Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Gemayel, during a lecture he held at Sao Paolo University-law faculty, had called Lebanon to set off indirect negotiations with Israel to settle the border conflict, pointing that “these are not peace negotiations”, but are temporary arrangements that allow the execution of the 1949 truce backed by Taëf Agreement and UN Resolution 1701. Hashem stressed that such suggestions “come in the wrong timing and place and in the wrong circumstances, in light of challenges threatening Lebanon.” “Lebanon has no interest in holding talks of any kind with the enemy. Lebanon is strong through the unity of its resistance, army and people’s embracement to the will of confrontation,” Hashem explained.

UAE seizes N. Korean arms ship bound for Iran
Diplomats tell AP UAE seized cargo ship carrying banned arms from North Korea earlier this month. Seizure carried out in accordance with new tough UN sanctions meant to derail country's nuclear program
Associated Press Published: 08.29.09, 07:20 / Israel News
The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo ship earlier this month bound for Iran with a cache of banned arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
'If American imperialists and South Korea threaten us with nukes, will react to them with merciless retaliation, all-out war of justice,' North Korea's military says
The seizure was carried out in accordance with tough new UN Security Council sanctions meant to derail North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Diplomats identified the vessel as a Bahamas-flagged cargo vessel, the ANL Australia, carrying rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. The diplomats and officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The UAE, a hub for Iranian goods, seized the ship several weeks ago. The ship is registered in the Bahamas, a common country of registry for vessels, but it wasn't immediately clear who owns it nor where the owner is based.
"We can confirm that the UAE detained a North Korean vessel containing illicit cargo," a Western diplomat told the AP.
The Security Council's latest resolution came in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test in May and firing of six short-range rockets.
The ship's seizure and reported violation of a UN arms embargo was reported by the UAE in a confidential letter two weeks ago to the council's sanctions committee for North Korea that is comprised of diplomats from all 15 nations on the Security Council, according to diplomats and officials.
Turkey's deputy UN ambassador, Fazli Corman, who chairs the sanctions panel, confirmed the incident without providing details and said council members are examining the seriousness of it. "The committee received information from UAE authorities and the committee is processing the information," he told the AP. The Financial Times first reported the weapons seizure Friday. The Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea on June 12, strengthening an arms embargo and authorizing ship searches on the high seas to try to rein in its nuclear program after Pyongyang's second nuclear test on May 25, violating a council resolution adopted after its first nuclear blast in 2006.

America’s Influence Declining in Middle East
As expected by his critics, Obama's overtures to the Muslim world have former allies changing sides, expecting Iran to be the winner.
Pyjama Media/August 28, 2009
by Joseph Puder
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/americas-influence-declining-in-middle-east/
The new administration in Washington has projected weakness, resulting in many pro-Western Arab leaders moving away from the U.S. and towards the perceived “strongman” Iran and its satellites.American influence in the Middle East is in decline, and it threatens the global order.
President Obama’s Cairo speech to the Arab and Muslim world and his previous speech in Ankara to the Turkish parliament did little to bolster Arab confidence in him or his government. As strange as it may sound, his appeasement of the Arabs — and of Iran in particular — has made many otherwise pro-Western voices switch sides. They are betting on Iran.
Walid Jumblatt is the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and one of the most prominent leaders of the Druze community. Jumblatt has been the fiercest opponent of Syria and its Shiite-Lebanese allies, especially Hezbollah. He was also allied with the March 14 coalition. Yet in spite of the seemingly victorious March 14 block of pro-Western forces led by Saad Hariri in the recent Lebanese elections, Hezbollah remains the major force in Lebanon.
Jumblatt, who bravely denounced the long arm of Iran around Lebanon’s neck and mocked the Syrian regime — especially Bashir Assad, whose father Hafez Assad ordered the murder of Jumblatt’s father Kamal in 1977 — has undergone a drastic change recently. Not an ideological reorientation, but rather the recognition that Lebanon’s future will be determined by Hezbollah and its Iranian paymasters. Jumblatt realizes that the Shia demographic growth, at the expense of the other confessional communities in Lebanon, has created a new military, political, and social climate.
While the Sunni-Muslim and Christian militias have disarmed as part of returning Lebanon to normalcy, Hezbollah remains the most formidable force in Lebanon. And while Iran and Syria never ceased meddling in Lebanese affairs, the Obama administration has chosen to appease these two allied countries, sending a clear signal to the likes of Jumblatt that America cannot be trusted. In contrast to the Bush administration, which passed the Syrian Accountability Act and ultimately drove the Syrian occupation forces out of Lebanon, Obama’s diplomacy and actions have encouraged the return of Syrian and Iranian influence — sending a strong message that has secured Hezbollah’s dominance.
The departure of Jumblatt from the March 14 block makes it difficult for Prime Minister Hariri to form a stable government without having to include Hezbollah. In essence, bringing Hezbollah into the government is akin to letting the Iranian “Trojan horse” in.
For Jumblatt, however, it was acting in accordance to the dictum “if you cannot beat them, join them.” Jumblatt has joined another defector from the pro-Western camp, General Michel Aoun, a Christian and former prime minister and an adversary of Syria. Aoun was discouraged by the U.S. abandonment under George H. W. Bush during his 1989 clash with the Syrian army, and Jumblatt by Obama in 2009. Both Aoun and Jumblatt have concluded that the U.S. is an unreliable ally.
On the western shores of the Persian Gulf, the hitherto pro-Western sheikdoms are beginning to flinch. Sensing weakness on the American side, Sultan Qaboos ibn Said Al Said, the leader of the Emirate of Oman, recently visited Iran for the first time since the Islamic Revolution. And he brought along a delegation of security and economic advisors, despite pressure from the U.S. and its Western allies not to go to Iran.
Oman has had strong security and economic ties with the U.S. and the West. The talk held with Iran’s President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei on regional issues and on the best way to strengthen political and economic bonds between Oman and Iran should therefore be cause for concern.
Qaboos, like his fellow Arabs in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is sensing that Iran’s power is ascending and that their traditional alliances with Britain and the U.S. will amount to nothing when Iran becomes a nuclear power with hegemony in the Persian Gulf and beyond. Qaboos and the other sheikdom rulers fear that Iran may destabilize their states. Moreover, they do not see a counter power to Iran that would stop the race by the Shiite mullahs to control the Gulf.
Qaboos and the Qataris, like Jumblatt and others in the region, view Obama as weak and irresolute. The largest of the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, is angry with Obama over his softness towards Iran and his impotence with stopping the Iranian nuclear project. Saudi Arabia fears the growing power of Iran and its influence over the Shiite masses in its oil-rich eastern provinces. Saudi Foreign Minister Feisal expressed his contempt for the Obama administration in front of the international media, when he rejected Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s request for Saudi goodwill gestures towards Israel.
President Obama’s friendliness towards the Arab and Muslim world and popularity as a different American president have done little to soften the positions of America’s enemies in the region. Rather, it has raised the confidence of America’s enemies — Iran and Syria — and increased fear in the hearts of American allies in Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Riyadh, not to mention the Gulf sheikdoms.
Obama’s claim that he understands Islamic culture is failing him. In the harsh and arid region that is the Middle East (Indonesia, where he grew up, is not the Middle East) you have to inspire fear in your enemies and confidence in your friends.


 

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 30/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:17-29. Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He even swore (many things) to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."  The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist." The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
 America’s Influence Declining in Middle East/By: Joseph Puder/Pyjama Media/August 28, 2009
Visa nightmare. By: Hayeon Lee, Now Lebanon , August 29, 2009
Fiery rhetoric... and then what?Al-Ahram Weekly 29/08/09
 Israel threatens Lebanon and Obama-Al-Ahram Weekly  29/08/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 29/09
 France Praises Syrian Role; Criticizes Aoun-Naharnet
 Hariri Ready to Meet Aoun at Baabda or Parliament-Naharnet
 Bassil Reacts to Hariri Initiative: Every Positive Move Will Be Met with a Similar Move-Naharnet
 Alain Aoun: Aoun considering Hariri’s initiative, received a phone call from Sleiman/Now Lebanon
 Preparations Underway to for Aoun-Sfeir Rapprochement-Naharnet
 Hariri-Jumblat Relations Back to Normal-Naharnet
 Parliamentary Majority Meets on Monday to Support Hariri-Naharnet
 Aoun Not Expected to Attend Baabda Iftar; Will Dispatch MPs Instead-Naharnet
 IAEA extends probe of alleged secret Syria atom site-Reuters
 Hezbollah calls for action on Cabinet-United Press International
 Aoun deals blow to hopes for cabinet breakthrough-Daily Star
Lebanese leaders welcome UNIFIL mandate extension-Daily Star
Hizbullah seeks to calm storm, expresses regret over Fadlallah insults-Daily Star
Gemayel calls for indirect border talks with Israel-Daily Star
Justice Ministry campaigns to abolish death penalty-Daily Star
Jumblatt offers condolences to Kennedy family-Daily Star
Army hands Israeli trespasser over to UNIFIL-Daily Star
Solana to visit Beirut during Middle East tour-Daily Star
 Lebanon's industrial exports drop 25 percent in July-Daily Star
ISF arrests robbery, murder suspect in Tabarja-Daily Star
Assailants attack members of Judicial Police-Daily Star
Hand grenade rocks Tariq al-Jdideh-Daily Star
 Lion cub found dumped in Beirut wasteland-Daily Star
Fighting an ongoing battle against drugs in the Bekaa-Daily Star
Hizbullah refuses the assaults against Fadlallah
 Geagea defends the Patriarch: Lebanon’s glory bestowed upon him
Muslim, Christian clerics commemorate 31st memory of Imam Sadr’s disappearance
Hashem: Gemayel is apparently nostalgic for May 17
 UAE seizes N. Korean arms ship bound for Iran/Israeli News

France Praises Syrian Role; Criticizes Aoun
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has lauded Syria for not "interfering" in Lebanon's internal affairs while criticizing MP Michel Aoun for setting "impossible" preconditions that are hindering the formation of a government. He was speaking at a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the 17th conference for French ambassadors. Koucnher said that Syrian President Bashar Assad "repeated three times that he was not insisting on veto power or on supporting Hizbullah."He pointed to Syria's "new diplomatic approach and its openness to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, prior recent accusations." However, he added, this "does not mean the absolute absence of Syrian interference in the formation process in Lebanon." On Iran, Kouchner did not rule out "a negative Iranian interference" pointing to "the continuous flow of Iranian weapons to Hizbullah which possesses 15,000 missiles."
He accused Iran of "continuing to support extremists groups" in reference to Hizbullah, Hamas and other. "It is not surprising that a government shape-up is taking so long," he said of Iran's interference, adding that a formation could take "several months." For his part, President Nicolas Sarkozy called for a "government of national unity as soon as possible."Meanwhile, official French sources told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that a government is expected to see the light by end of Ramadan. Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:20

Hariri Ready to Meet Aoun at Baabda or Parliament
Naharnet/Premier-designate Saad Hariri launched a new initiative on Friday by inviting Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun for talks at Baabda palace or parliament.
"Since Gen. Michel Aoun does not want to come to Qoreitem or Center House, I am ready to meet him" at Baabda palace or parliament, Hariri said during an Iftar. "I hope this initiative will receive a positive response because the country is more important than all of us," he added. Hariri then called President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri to inform him about his initiative. During the Iftar, the PM-designate also said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is not politicized and stressed he will respect its rulings. Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 22:40

Preparations Underway to for Aoun-Sfeir Rapprochement
Naharnet/Preparations are underway to restore ties between MP Michel Aoun and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, sources close to Rabieh told al-Akhbar daily in comments published Saturday. "Deliberations are not final yet between Bkirki and Rabieh, but there is a positive mood on both sides," the sources said. Both sides are awaiting the end of the government file before moving forward with their rapprochement. The sources denied "there was a mediator between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Maronite Patriarchy" adding that contacts were "direct." Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 10:18

Hariri-Jumblat Relations Back to Normal
Naharnet/Premier-designate Saad Hariri and MP Walid Jumblat have restored normal ties, which was evident during a meeting between them after the former's return from Saudi Arabia, local press said Saturday. As Safir daily quoted informed sources as saying that Jumblat was insisting on the need to "vent tensions on the domestic front on all levels. And he personally informed Hariri of that need." The paper said Jumblat also stressed on the need to "exert efforts to reach reconciliations in the Mountain, Beirut and any other region to address remnants of May 7 (2008) events or Aicha Bakkar incidents." According to the sources, "steps on the ground will be taken soon toward activating the reconciliations process, specifically in Beirut."
Jumblat told As Safir he was "relieved that Hariri responded to reconciliation calls" and expressed hope for their expansion. On the government formation, he said: "In reality I do not know what is going on. I do not want to enter wrangling especially that there is no reasonable explanation as to why the shape-up is being delayed." Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:47

Alain Aoun: Aoun considering Hariri’s initiative, received a phone call from Sleiman
August 29, 2009 /Now Lebanon
Change and Reform bloc MP Alain Aoun told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency on Saturday that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is considering Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s invitation to meet at either Baabda or the parliament building. Aoun said the FPM leader will personally respond to the initiative soon. Aoun also revealed President Michel Sleiman telephoned Michel Aoun to discuss Hariri’s invitation. “The meeting should provide the FPM with guarantees in regard to dealing with the movement as a true partner in the new cabinet,” he said. Aoun said the FPM leader will not attend the Iftar dinner which the president has organized due to unrelated political reasons and affirmed that other Change and Reform bloc MPs will attend the Iftar dinner. Aoun called on all parties not to drag the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in their political disputes. He also commented on the campaign launched against Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, saying that religious figures who adopt political rhetoric should expect people to responded to them. He also called on all parties to respect all religious leaders in order to preserve co-existence in Lebanon

Bassil Reacts to Hariri Initiative: Every Positive Move Will Be Met with a Similar Move
Naharnet/Interim Telecoms Minister Jebran Bassil said in comments published Saturday that each "positive step, be that in words or deeds" will be met by similar positivity, in reference to an initiative launched by premier-designate to meet MP Michel Aoun at Baabda Palace or Parliament. Speaking to As-Safir daily, Bassil said: "The venue of the meeting is not important. What is important is to agree on the rights and the meaning of real partnership and national unity.""In any case," he said, "anything linked to what the premier-designate says is left to General Aoun's discretion. He will give the final answer." In separate comments with An Nahar daily, Bassil said Aoun "must review premier-designate Saad Hariri's proposal before personally commenting on it." "Formalities are not important. What is important is for us to agree on the meaning for unity and national partnership and translate that into a government that guarantees each team's rights," he added. The telecoms ministers said Hariri's initiative "addressed the form not the content of the government shape-up and is being handled as such because we are looking for a solution not a problem. We do not want a solution to the form but to the content. Beirut, 29 Aug 09, 09:32

Parliamentary Majority Meets on Monday to Support Hariri
Naharnet/Parliamentary majority lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting at Premier-designate Saad Hariri's Center house in downtown Beirut on Monday to declare support for the Mustaqbal movement leader. According to information received by Naharnet, the 71 MPs who represent the March 14 forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Democratic Gathering in addition to MPs Michel Murr, Ahmed Karami and former PM Najib Miqati will be present. Following the meeting, a statement will express support for the premier-designate's efforts to form a cabinet and will stress the parliamentary majority's backing for Hariri despite the latest rift between the March 14 forces and Druze leader Walid Jumblat. The meeting comes following contacts in the last few days to repair ties between Hariri and Jumblat and after channels of dialogue were opened between the Progressive Socialist Party and March 14.
Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 21:10

Solana in Beirut Next Week
Naharnet/EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana makes a four-day trip to the Middle East, including Lebanon, next week as part of renewed international efforts to try to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, his office said Friday. Solana, the 27-nation bloc's top diplomatic representative, will hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Sunday, a statement said. The following day he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as President Shimon Peres and the Jewish state's foreign and defense ministers. On Tuesday, Solana will travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as EU officials working in the occupied territories. He then moves on to Beirut, for meetings with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and his designated successor Saad Hariri, as well as Speaker Nabih Berri. His tour ends in Cairo Wednesday with talks with President Hosni Mubarak.(AFP) Beirut, 28 Aug 09, 20:09

Visa nightmare
Hayeon Lee,
Now Lebanon , August 29, 2009
Lebanese passports (AFP/Anwar Amro)
Nadia* is Lebanese and has been married to a Lebanese-Englishman for over 15 years. She is a mother of two teenage children and works at a university. She and her husband have lived in Lebanon for their entire marriage, and while Nadia’s children have been British citizens since birth, Nadia has yet to obtain a British passport. In order to get one she would have to live in the UK for more than one year.
Despite her husband’s nationality, Nadia must obtain a visa whenever she travels to her husband’s home country. Although she has always been treated civilly at the British embassy, she says the process always makes her feel like a criminal because of the personal information she must provide. Required documents include a letter of employment, bank statements, copies of plane reservation and even an invitation from someone in the UK, “Even though my husband is British!”
Still, the most irritating part of it all, for Nadia is the fact that other Lebanese women who are married to men of EU nationalities enter the UK on free visas. This is part of an EU agreement, in which non-European spouses of Europeans can obtain visas within the EU zone without having to pay extra fees. But this doesn’t apply to women who marry men from the UK and Nadia must pay $500 for a 10-year multiple-entry visas, or $115 for a 6-month multiple entry visa. Nadia opts for the latter, as she does not regularly visit the UK
“I can understand governments and countries have to look after their borders,” says Nadia, “But just because you’re Lebanese, you’re tagged, and they scrutinize you more than any other nationality.”
But the worst of Nadia’s visa nightmares came recently, when she had to apply for an Irish visa. Nadia was invited to her husband’s niece’s wedding, which will take place next month, and although she will go to the UK first, she was told that she would still need a visa to Ireland. With only a few weeks left until the wedding, Nadia immediately set out to obtain her Irish visa as soon as her British one arrived. But with no Irish representation in Lebanon, Nadia had to either go to the consulate in Syria or to the embassy in Egypt.
Ironically, going to Egypt was out of the question, because Nadia would have to apply for a visa, which is known to take at least a week. Because Syria is one of the few Arab countries that do not require Lebanese to get a visa, Nadia took a day trip to Damascus alone in a taxi, dealt with the border hassle, and when she arrived, she presented all her papers – including a copy of the wedding invitation – to the consulate. If all goes well, the Irish embassy in Cairo should be receiving her documents from Damascus, where she will have to again travel to once the visa arrives. Nadia wanted to ask more questions on about whether she could obtain an Irish visa at the border, considering her specific circumstances, but she decided it was better not to. In fact, no one really gave her a straight answer, except that indeed, even if she was married for 15 years to a British man, she should get an Irish visa. “I didn’t want to push it more and risk my trip, and say, ‘Can’t I get [the visa] from the border?’ I said, ok, I’ll just go and apply for a visa. We’re used to it,” she says.
“Everybody comes here in Lebanon and they don’t need a visa. Okay, I can go and get a visa, but ask me for reasonable information. I have to get all sorts of papers to get a visa,” Nadia complains. It is not an uncommon tale when it comes to Lebanese getting visas to foreign countries, even Arab ones.

Hashem: Gemayel is apparently nostalgic for May 17
Date: August 28th, 2009/Future News
Liberation and Development bloc member, MP Kassem Hashem, considered the suggestion of Kataeb leader, former President Amine Gemayel to hold indirect talks with Israel, nostalgia to the time of the May 17 agreement. “It seems that Kataeb leader, Gemayel, the hero of ‘May 17’ agreement is nostalgic to the time of negotiations with Israel. But Shebaa farms and the Ghajar village are Lebanese lands and therefore need no negotiations, but rather the implementation of international resolutions,” Hashem said in a statement on Friday.
On May 17, 1983, Israel and Lebanon signed a peace agreement in Naquora on condition that Israel withdraws from Lebanon. Gemayel, during a lecture he held at Sao Paolo University-law faculty, had called Lebanon to set off indirect negotiations with Israel to settle the border conflict, pointing that “these are not peace negotiations”, but are temporary arrangements that allow the execution of the 1949 truce backed by Taëf Agreement and UN Resolution 1701. Hashem stressed that such suggestions “come in the wrong timing and place and in the wrong circumstances, in light of challenges threatening Lebanon.” “Lebanon has no interest in holding talks of any kind with the enemy. Lebanon is strong through the unity of its resistance, army and people’s embracement to the will of confrontation,” Hashem explained.

UAE seizes N. Korean arms ship bound for Iran
Diplomats tell AP UAE seized cargo ship carrying banned arms from North Korea earlier this month. Seizure carried out in accordance with new tough UN sanctions meant to derail country's nuclear program
Associated Press Published: 08.29.09, 07:20 / Israel News
The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo ship earlier this month bound for Iran with a cache of banned arms from North Korea, the first such seizure since sanctions against North Korea were ramped up, diplomats and officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
'If American imperialists and South Korea threaten us with nukes, will react to them with merciless retaliation, all-out war of justice,' North Korea's military says
The seizure was carried out in accordance with tough new UN Security Council sanctions meant to derail North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Diplomats identified the vessel as a Bahamas-flagged cargo vessel, the ANL Australia, carrying rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons. The diplomats and officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The UAE, a hub for Iranian goods, seized the ship several weeks ago. The ship is registered in the Bahamas, a common country of registry for vessels, but it wasn't immediately clear who owns it nor where the owner is based.
"We can confirm that the UAE detained a North Korean vessel containing illicit cargo," a Western diplomat told the AP.
The Security Council's latest resolution came in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test in May and firing of six short-range rockets.
The ship's seizure and reported violation of a UN arms embargo was reported by the UAE in a confidential letter two weeks ago to the council's sanctions committee for North Korea that is comprised of diplomats from all 15 nations on the Security Council, according to diplomats and officials.
Turkey's deputy UN ambassador, Fazli Corman, who chairs the sanctions panel, confirmed the incident without providing details and said council members are examining the seriousness of it. "The committee received information from UAE authorities and the committee is processing the information," he told the AP. The Financial Times first reported the weapons seizure Friday. The Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea on June 12, strengthening an arms embargo and authorizing ship searches on the high seas to try to rein in its nuclear program after Pyongyang's second nuclear test on May 25, violating a council resolution adopted after its first nuclear blast in 2006.

America’s Influence Declining in Middle East
As expected by his critics, Obama's overtures to the Muslim world have former allies changing sides, expecting Iran to be the winner.
Pyjama Media/August 28, 2009
by Joseph Puder
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/americas-influence-declining-in-middle-east/
The new administration in Washington has projected weakness, resulting in many pro-Western Arab leaders moving away from the U.S. and towards the perceived “strongman” Iran and its satellites.American influence in the Middle East is in decline, and it threatens the global order.
President Obama’s Cairo speech to the Arab and Muslim world and his previous speech in Ankara to the Turkish parliament did little to bolster Arab confidence in him or his government. As strange as it may sound, his appeasement of the Arabs — and of Iran in particular — has made many otherwise pro-Western voices switch sides. They are betting on Iran.
Walid Jumblatt is the current leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and one of the most prominent leaders of the Druze community. Jumblatt has been the fiercest opponent of Syria and its Shiite-Lebanese allies, especially Hezbollah. He was also allied with the March 14 coalition. Yet in spite of the seemingly victorious March 14 block of pro-Western forces led by Saad Hariri in the recent Lebanese elections, Hezbollah remains the major force in Lebanon.
Jumblatt, who bravely denounced the long arm of Iran around Lebanon’s neck and mocked the Syrian regime — especially Bashir Assad, whose father Hafez Assad ordered the murder of Jumblatt’s father Kamal in 1977 — has undergone a drastic change recently. Not an ideological reorientation, but rather the recognition that Lebanon’s future will be determined by Hezbollah and its Iranian paymasters. Jumblatt realizes that the Shia demographic growth, at the expense of the other confessional communities in Lebanon, has created a new military, political, and social climate.
While the Sunni-Muslim and Christian militias have disarmed as part of returning Lebanon to normalcy, Hezbollah remains the most formidable force in Lebanon. And while Iran and Syria never ceased meddling in Lebanese affairs, the Obama administration has chosen to appease these two allied countries, sending a clear signal to the likes of Jumblatt that America cannot be trusted. In contrast to the Bush administration, which passed the Syrian Accountability Act and ultimately drove the Syrian occupation forces out of Lebanon, Obama’s diplomacy and actions have encouraged the return of Syrian and Iranian influence — sending a strong message that has secured Hezbollah’s dominance.
The departure of Jumblatt from the March 14 block makes it difficult for Prime Minister Hariri to form a stable government without having to include Hezbollah. In essence, bringing Hezbollah into the government is akin to letting the Iranian “Trojan horse” in.
For Jumblatt, however, it was acting in accordance to the dictum “if you cannot beat them, join them.” Jumblatt has joined another defector from the pro-Western camp, General Michel Aoun, a Christian and former prime minister and an adversary of Syria. Aoun was discouraged by the U.S. abandonment under George H. W. Bush during his 1989 clash with the Syrian army, and Jumblatt by Obama in 2009. Both Aoun and Jumblatt have concluded that the U.S. is an unreliable ally.
On the western shores of the Persian Gulf, the hitherto pro-Western sheikdoms are beginning to flinch. Sensing weakness on the American side, Sultan Qaboos ibn Said Al Said, the leader of the Emirate of Oman, recently visited Iran for the first time since the Islamic Revolution. And he brought along a delegation of security and economic advisors, despite pressure from the U.S. and its Western allies not to go to Iran.
Oman has had strong security and economic ties with the U.S. and the West. The talk held with Iran’s President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei on regional issues and on the best way to strengthen political and economic bonds between Oman and Iran should therefore be cause for concern.
Qaboos, like his fellow Arabs in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is sensing that Iran’s power is ascending and that their traditional alliances with Britain and the U.S. will amount to nothing when Iran becomes a nuclear power with hegemony in the Persian Gulf and beyond. Qaboos and the other sheikdom rulers fear that Iran may destabilize their states. Moreover, they do not see a counter power to Iran that would stop the race by the Shiite mullahs to control the Gulf.
Qaboos and the Qataris, like Jumblatt and others in the region, view Obama as weak and irresolute. The largest of the Gulf States, Saudi Arabia, is angry with Obama over his softness towards Iran and his impotence with stopping the Iranian nuclear project. Saudi Arabia fears the growing power of Iran and its influence over the Shiite masses in its oil-rich eastern provinces. Saudi Foreign Minister Feisal expressed his contempt for the Obama administration in front of the international media, when he rejected Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s request for Saudi goodwill gestures towards Israel.
President Obama’s friendliness towards the Arab and Muslim world and popularity as a different American president have done little to soften the positions of America’s enemies in the region. Rather, it has raised the confidence of America’s enemies — Iran and Syria — and increased fear in the hearts of American allies in Beirut, Cairo, Jerusalem, and Riyadh, not to mention the Gulf sheikdoms.
Obama’s claim that he understands Islamic culture is failing him. In the harsh and arid region that is the Middle East (Indonesia, where he grew up, is not the Middle East) you have to inspire fear in your enemies and confidence in your friends.