LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
September 04 31/12

Bible Quotation for today/
Luke 17/,5-10: "The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea", and it would obey you. ‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, "Come here at once and take your place at the table"? Would you not rather say to him, "Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink"? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, "We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!" ’

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
The future of Syria’s pawns in Lebanon/By: Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/September 03 /12

President Barack Obama is sending CIA Director David Petraeus to Israel in a hurry Monday to cool Israeli ire
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 2, 201/President Barack Obama is sending CIA Director David Petraeus to Israel in a hurry Monday, Sept. 3, in an attempt to quench the flames of discord between Israel and his administration on the Iran issue. He will fly in from a visit to Ankara Sunday, where too he faces recriminations for US handling of the Syrian crisis.
Israel has a double grievance over Obama’s Iran policy: Not only does his administration spare Iran’s leaders any sense of military threat that might give them pause in their dash for a nuclear weapon, but US officials are actively preventing any Israel striking out in its own defense to dispel the dark shadow of a nuclear Iran.
Behind closed doors in Ankara Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul are preparing to vent their anger against the US administration for tying their hands against establishing safe havens in Syria for rebel operations against the Assad regime. The Turkish Air Force has been on standby for the last two months for this mission, along with the Saudi and UAE air forces. However, none are prepared to go forward without logistical backing from the US Air Force.
They blame Obama’s refusal to engage directly in the Syrian conflict for the escalating terrorist threats confronting Turkey from Assad’s open door to PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) bases in northern Syria and the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border triangle. Turkey is also stuck with a swelling influx of Syrian refugees piling an unmanageable burden on its economy.
Israel does not expect anything useful to come out of the Petraeus visit – or even any alleviation of the bad feeling between Binyamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama. High-placed officials in Jerusalem were of the view that the CIA chief fits the US president’s bill at this time. His visit is a non-binding gesture of goodwill for Israel which does not require the White House or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey to backtrack or apologize for his derogatory remarks about the IDF's capacity for taking Iran on. Another advantage is that any words passing between the CIA chief and Israeli leaders may be classified.
His visit to Jerusalem will therefore not stem the ill will prevailing between Jerusalem and Washington.
All the same, Prime Minister Netanyahu chose his words carefully Sunday to avoid fingering the US directly when he urged the international community to get tougher against Iran, saying that without a "clear red line," Tehran will not halt its nuclear program. He was addressing the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
"I believe that the truth must be said, the international community [not the US] is not drawing a clear red line for Iran, and Iran does not see international determination to stop its nuclear program," Netanyahu said. "Until Iran sees this clear red line and this determination, it will not stop its advancement of the Iranian nuclear program. Iran must not have a nuclear weapon," he declared.
Earlier Sunday, debkafile reported: Slashed US military input shortens Israel's notice of Iranian missile launch.

Vice president Biden: Romney wants war with Syria, Iran
Associated Press Published: 09.02.12/Ynetnews
White House, Republicans continue to exchange accusations as US elections near. Vice president says Republican candidate 'ready to go to war' Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that Republican rival Mitt Romney is ‘‘ready to go to war in Syria and Iran’’ while hurting the middle class. The warning came during a campaign stop in York, Pa., designed to promote President Barack Obama’s economic policies among white, working-class voters. The thrust of Biden’s pitch has been that America is digging out from the 2008 economic collapse and that Romney would take the country backward. But Biden, a foreign policy heavyweight, also cautioned voters that Romney would adopt policies that favor confrontation over cooperation. ‘‘He said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home,’’ Biden said of Romney. ‘‘He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he’s ready to go to war in Syria and Iran. ‘‘Biden made the claim about Syria and Iran without offering specifics; his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for details.Romney has said he would consider military action in Syria if the war-torn country’s chemical weapons were at risk of falling into the wrong hands. Obama, who has opposed military action in Syria, has made similar remarks, calling it a ‘‘red line’’ for the US if Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime were to use chemical or biological weapons. And like Obama, Romney has said the US must keep all options on the table, including a military strike, when dealing with Iran. But Romney has suggested that Obama has been too soft on Iran and — without offering specifics himself — said he would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
But Biden’s remarks, in an audience of about 1,400 in a high school gymnasium, focused mostly on the economy.‘‘This is no time to turn back. We have to continue to move forward,’’ he said. ‘‘Folks, I am absolutely certain — there’s not a single doubt in my mind — that we are on the way to rebuilding this country stronger than it was before.’’
Biden said Romney’s policies favor the rich at the expense of the middle class. ‘‘On top of maintaining that tax cut ... they want to add another $250,000-a-year tax cut for everyone making over a million dollars,’’ Biden said. ‘‘So you wonder why they’re eviscerating the middle class, and this has a giant price tag.’’‘‘These are the very policies that put America’s greatness in jeopardy in the first place,’’ he added. He also noted Ryan had not told the complete story when he talked about a General Motors plant that closed in Janesville, Wis., his hometown.
‘‘What he didn’t tell you was that plant in Janesville actually closed while President Bush was still president,’’ Biden said before flying to Wisconsin later in the day.

Iran claims developed long-range fighter drone
Dudi Cohen/Ynetnews/Deputy defense minister says Tehran developed Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles with a range of 1,000 kilometers and equipped with missiles
Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Mohammad Eslami said Sunday that his country's defense industries are equipping combat drones with missile systems.
Eslami told the Fars news agency that the recent drills conducted by the Revolutionary Guards employed fighter drones, adding that they are now installing missiles on these Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles UCAVs. According to the report, this will be Iran's first long-range unmanned combat air vehicle and it can bomb targets at high speed and has a range of 1,000 kilometers.
Eslami noted that the drone had been built based "covert and overt sources" and mentioned the downing of the US drone by the Revolutionary Guards. Tehran often claims to have made scientific and military breakthroughs but in most cases fails to produce evidence of this. Consequently, the West does not always take these announcements seriously.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards said that Iran is "past" the threats and now sees its main challenge as the "soft war" – the Iranian term for a cultural war waged in the West in the purpose of inserting western values into Iran. "With each day that goes by the enemy realizes it cannot force its will on Iran," he told academics in Mashad. "Naturally they threaten to strike but this is meant to serve their other goals too." He further added, "They lack the courage to realize those threats and have recently even avoided voicing them."His statements contradict the public debate in the US on a possible strike in Iran.

Germany Says Lebanon Paying Price of Syria War
Naharnet/02 September 2012/German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle warned on Sunday that Lebanon was paying the price of the war in Syria and reiterated his country’s support for the Lebanese people. In remarks to the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily, Westerwelle said: “We are watching the developments in Lebanon with concern and preserving our intense contacts with our Lebanese partners.”
“I visited Lebanon last June as a sign of solidarity with the Lebanese people that are suffering from the repercussions of the ugly civil war in Syria,” he said. “We are helping Lebanon whenever it needs (any help) such as through programs to support the refugees from Syria,” Westerwelle added. At least 1.2 million people have been displaced by the Syrian conflict which erupted 17 months ago, according to the United Nations. Almost 229,000 refugees have been officially registered in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Westerwelle also told al-Rai that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is nearing its end and will not be able to regain areas that were captured by the rebel Free Syrian Army. “He is dragging the entire country with him to civil war in a horrendous way,” he said.

Fugitive Lebanese-U.S. Businessman Returned to Dubai
Naharnet/02 September 2012/A fugitive Lebanese-American businessman fighting fiscal corruption charges in Dubai has been returned to the United Arab Emirates after fleeing to Yemen, a spokesman said Saturday. The return of Zack Shahin to UAE custody ends his bid to get American diplomatic assistance to return to the U.S. via Yemen and presumably escape a legal battle in Dubai dating back to 2008.
He denies any wrongdoing and, after four years without a trial, questions whether he will receive fair treatment.
Shahin, who was born in Lebanon and raised in Ohio, was detained by Yemeni authorities last month after slipping into the country. He was released from a Dubai jail in July after posting a $1.4 million bail following a hunger strike that brought the U.S. government into a rare public dispute with its close UAE ally over Shahin's demand for a trial.
Washington-based spokesman Darren Spinck said Yemeni authorities put Shahin on a plane Saturday to be returned to the UAE "without a court hearing on extradition."
No other details were immediately available on Shahin's whereabouts. Shahin faces charges of financial improprieties during his time as CEO of a Dubai-based property company, Deyaar Development. Deyaar was one of a host of Dubai-based developers that shot to prominence during the emirate's building boom last decade. He was arrested in 2008 as part of a probe into alleged embezzlement by executives at the company. American officials in the UAE took an unusually public role in advocating for Shahin's right to a trial as his health deteriorated from the hunger strike and other ailments such as high blood pressure. Spinck said the 52-year-old Shahin had at least three medical "emergencies" while in Yemeni custody, but no details were immediately available.SourceAssociated Press.

The future of Syria’s pawns in Lebanon
Ana Maria Luca/Now Lebanon/ September 2, 2012
Whatever the outcome of the Syrian uprising, the regime of Bashar al-Assad will not have the same grip over Lebanon’s politics as before. While the government in Damascus fights against the rebels, Beirut’s political landscape is also at a crossroads, as the two main Lebanese political blocs, March 8 and March 14, still base much of their platforms on being either pro- or anti-Syria.
Analysts say that the Hezbollah-led, pro-Syria March 8 alliance is facing a foreign support crisis and many of its parties’ existences are threatened by the crumbling of the regime that supported them for decades.
“Syria’s most important role in Lebanon was security,” Imad Salamey, professor of Political Science and International Relations at the Lebanese American University, told NOW. He noted that politicians who chose to represent Syria’s interests in Lebanon used that security threat to deter their domestic political rivals and gain power and influence.
Al-Balad political analyst Ali al-Amin argues that there are two types of political factions within March 8: those dependent on the Syrian regime and those with a strong Lebanese political identity but that benefit from the security alliance with Damascus. “All of these parties will be vulnerable, will decline in influence, and some will struggle for existence,” he told NOW.
Salamey also said that the March 8 parties will most probably be forced to change their alignment following Assad’s fall and will find new foreign protectors. “Historically, the Lebanese sectarian groups have always sheltered their members,” Salamey said.
Suleiman Franjieh is a close friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Their friendship goes back to 1978, when young Franjieh took exile in Latakia after his father, mother and sister were assassinated in the Ehden Massacre. While keeping mum on most events of the Arab Spring, Franjieh classified the Syrian uprising as a terrorist coup against the Damascus government. Analysts say that Franjieh’s family wealth is likely to keep his Marada Movement politically alive, even without Syrian regime support. It is, however, unclear yet toward which foreign protector the politician might reorient.
General Michel Aoun’s relationship with Syria is long and complicated. As head of the Lebanese army, Aoun waged in March 1989 a liberation war against the Syrian occupiers, who had 40,000 troops in Lebanon, and spent 15 years in exile to avoid being assassinated. However, when he returned to Beirut in 2005 after the Syrian withdrawal, he allied his party with Hezbollah and became part of the pro-Syrian March 8 coalition. Aoun has taken a mild stance on the Syrian uprising, hinting at the need for regime change, but at the same time expressing fears of Islamists taking over Lebanon’s neighbor. Analysts say the FPM is not in danger of disappearing after the collapse of the Syrian regime, but its popularity will be affected. Aoun could gradually take a critical stance against the Syrian regime and seek French foreign support in the event of Assad’s ouster.
Assaad Hardan is a dedicated supporter of “Greater Syria,” which includes Lebanon, and is one of the most important pro-Syrian politicians in the country. Because of his alliance with the regime in Damascus, the United States imposed sanctions on Hardan in July 2012 for allegedly transferring weapons from Syria to Hezbollah. His party’s supporters were also allegedly involved in several armed incidents in the Hamra district of Beirut after Syrian refugees started protesting against the Assad regime in front of the Syrian Embassy. Analysts say the Syrian Social Nationalist Party would be badly affected by the collapse of Syrian regime, as the party is strictly dependent on Damascus. One way to save it would be to seek Russia’s support.
Bashar al-Assad’s close friend and advisor, Michel Samaha was arrested in August 2012 for allegedly planning to kill religious leaders in northern Lebanon at the request of Damascus. Lebanese authorities charged him, together with Syrian national security chief General Ali Mamluk, for plotting “terrorist attacks” and the assassination of political and religious figures in Lebanon. None of Syria’s allies in Lebanon spoke in defense of Samaha. While the evidence was made public in the Lebanese media, the Syrian government expressed no reaction.
With his main foreign protector collapsing, longtime Assad ally Nabih Berri has few options as to which foreign powers—and providers—to ally himself with. Analysts agree that the most obvious foreign sponsor for the Amal Movement is Iran, which has already reportedly provided Berri with some political cover and financial support.
Analysts agree that the fall of the Assad regime will hit Hezbollah very hard, but they also say that the support the party gets from Iran is more important than the political backing it receives from Syria. Some analysts suggest that Hezbollah will lose its regional popularity, as it is perceived as an ally of the Assad regime, and it will also lose control of the Lebanese government institutions it controlled.
A friend of the Syrian president with Arab nationalist views, Wiam Wahhab founded the Arab Tawhid Party, which is part of the National Coalition, led by pro-Syrian Sunni leader Omar Karami. The Tawhid Movement was involved in various feuds with supporters of fellow Druze leader Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party. Together with SSNP cheif Assaad Hardan, Wahhab was one of the Lebanese politicians the United Stated imposed sanctions on for allegedly smuggling weapons to Hezbollah from Syria and stirring instability in Lebanon. Tawhid is one of the small pro-Syrian parties endangered by the collapse of the Syrian regime, its primary regional backer.
The Lebanese Baath Party is a branch of the Damascus-based Syrian Baath Party that brought Hafez al-Assad to power. Assem Qanso was the longest-serving secretary general of the party and became one of its two MPs after the 2009 parliamentary elections. During the Syrian uprising, Qanso accused Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Saqr, Hani Hammoud and former PM Saad Hariri of being part of a conspiracy to stage the uprising in Syria. Analysts say his party will most likely cease to exist post-Assad, the same way Iraqi Baathists lost power in post-Saddam Iraq.
Sunni MP Osama Saad, based in Sidon, allied his party with Hezbollah after the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005. PNO supporters clashed with members of Salafist Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir’s sit-in in Sidon, which was set up to protest Hezbollah’s arsenal. Analysts say that Osama Saad’s small political faction is not threatened by the collapse of the Syrian regime, due to the tribal structure of Sidon, where each family’s support base allows clans to reorganize politically.
Younger brother of assassinated PM Rashid Karami, Omar entered politics following his brother's death and was elected representative of Tripoli in 1991. He is a veteran supporter of Syria, is a Hezbollah ally and was one of the candidates for heading the March 8 cabinet in 2010. Analysts say that the Syrian regime’s collapse might make Karami realign with moderate Sunni factions like PM Najib Miqati’s.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai against turning Lebanon into battlefield for regional disputes
September 2, 2012 /Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai on Sunday said that the Lebanese people reject turning their country into a battlefield to settle regional and international differences.
“The Lebanese people totally reject turning Lebanon into an arena to settle regional and international disputes; [they reject] that political parties be used and armed in a bid to move chaos and strife from Arab countries, especially from Syria, to Lebanon,” the National News Agency quoted Rai as saying in his Sunday sermon. The patriarch also voiced his rejection of the spread of violence in the country. “The Lebanese people reject the new phenomenon of violence, attacks, killings, abductions, thefts and blocking roads,” he added. Fighting linked to the troubles in Syria broke out last month in Tripoli between pro- and anti-Syrian regime gunmen from Sunni and Alawite groups, whose rival districts – Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen respectively – are divided by a thoroughfare called Syria Street. The ensuing clashes have left at least 15 people dead.-NOW Lebanon

Discovering Ashrafieh can be quiet and car free
September 03, 2012 01:44 AM By Olivia Alabaster The Daily Star
BEIRUT: It’s an overused and oft abused metaphor that Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East, but the phrase seemed to ring true Sunday – at least in a section of Ashrafieh.
With pedestrianized streets, people cycling everywhere, and art littering the sidewalks, all part of the Ashrafieh 2020 initiative, the area seemed positively bohemian.
Sunday’s “Discover Ashrafieh,” a car-free event, was the launch of the eight-year project that aims to “reinvent Ashrafieh as a breathable, welcoming and friendly neighborhood.”
While initially spearheaded by Beirut MP Nadim Gemayel, a member of the Kataeb (Phalange) party, the campaign is apolitical, and is now being run by a committee comprising 20 local residents.
The day was the first of what will become an annual event, but there were rumors, and popular enthusiasm Sunday, for the car-free zone becoming a much more regular occurrence.
“Can you imagine if they did it every Sunday? I know every day is not possible, but that would be amazing,” said Rima Greich, a 28-year-old charity worker who lives in nearby Saifi.
Visiting with a friend and her children, Greich said that the kids, three and five, were so excited to be able to walk in the middle of the road for the first time.
“It’s just such a lovely day, with such a friendly atmosphere, and I’m noticing that we Lebanese smile at each other when we get the chance. When we’re stuck in traffic, beeping our horns, we don’t smile.”
As the objective of the campaign states, “We have all noticed how many details occur to a walker or a biker that usually go unnoticed by drivers driving through the city. Walkers discover every day a new tree, an old house hidden behind the big modern buildings, a stair.”
With a food market, workshops for children, running events, yoga, basketball, performances and historical information on hand, the day offered more than just the absence of cars, and with no traffic around the entire area was tranquil – despite its central location. “At first people were worried about how they would cope without their cars, but as soon as they realized they had feet, they were fine,” said Josyane Boulos, from Urban Art, the event planners behind the event. “People have been so happy to just walk around the streets, and remember their childhood. I used to live right there,” she said, pointing to a building on Independence Avenue, which leads up to Sassine, where the sports events were being held, “and there were far fewer cars back then – we could play in the streets.”
The organizers posted a schedule of events in every building in the zone, informing residents of where they should park their cars outside of the area, and with the number of a hotline enabling them to reserve transport, via golf carts, if they were elderly, disabled or having to carry luggage to or from the airport Sunday.
Bicycles and Segways were also available to hire for the day. “It’s actually making people more aware that cycling can be a real alternative to cars in a small neighborhood such as Ashrafieh. How ideal would it be if cars were left parked and people cycled to work?” asked Tony Massabni, one of the partners behind Bike Generation, a cycling shop in Furn al-Shubbak, which was hiring out 150 bikes Sunday. “People are really seeing that cycling is one of the simple pleasures in life – besides being healthy and environmentally friendly.” Making the transition from a one-off event to a situation where cycling was the norm must be nurtured by increasing the frequency of such events, Massabni said. “This is the first step, but I think it’s a grand one.”

UNIFIL: Hezbollah not present south of Litani
September 03, 2012/By Mohammed Zaatari/ The Daily Star
Francois voiced fear that the unrest in Syria could spill over into Lebanon. TYRE, Lebanon: The commander of the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon said Sunday that Hezbollah was not active south of the Litani River and that only the Lebanese Army and peacekeeping troops were operating there. Col. Phillip Francois also emphasized that maintaining peacekeeping troops along the border was necessary to prevent an outbreak of violence, adding that the situation in the south would be dangerous without UNIFIL. “The presence of UNIFIL is a necessity to stop tension from escalating and to stop any renewal of violence,” said Francois. During a lunch in honor of a number of journalists at the headquarters of France’s peacekeeping troops in Deir Kifa near Tyre, the colonel said that the Lebanese Army had full willingness and determination to extend the country’s sovereignty over all its territories. “This is what we have seen through our joint military maneuvers with the Army ... This Army has determination and will. It only requires modern equipment,” Francois said. Francois expressed his fear that the unrest in Syria could spill over into Lebanon and that the country might also be affected from the ongoing tension between Israel and Iran over the latter’s alleged nuclear program. “In such a scenario, UNIFIL will adhere to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 in its response ... This means we won’t respond to any aggression because such a measure would require offensive equipment that the resolution does not ensure,” he said.
“It would have been possible to respond if UNIFIL’s mandate had been placed under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Security Council under which peacekeeping would be enforced by all means,” said Francois.
But Francois said that the Lebanese political parties would not let the country become a victim of regional tension because such a development would stand in the way of their own interests.
“Everyone, including Hezbollah, which is part of the government, does not see their interests in a security chaos. On the global level, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union also want Lebanon away from the Syrian crisis,” he added. The French colonel also rejected claims by some residents of south Lebanon that UNIFIL spied for Israel. “There was some misunderstanding with the local population in the first period of our mandate ... When some people saw UNIFIL troops taking pictures, they thought we are spying for Israel when the photographs were just for personal memories,” said Francois. “Everyone knows well that this is not the way to spy on a country when there are highly advanced satellites that take clear and more detailed photographs of the area.”
Francois also voiced hope that investigations into last year’s attacks on UNIFIL troops that injured six French soldiers would reach a conclusion. A roadside bomb near the southern city of Tyre ripped through a French UNIFIL patrol and wounded five French peacekeepers and a Lebanese civilian. The attack was the third of its kind in the same year. The Italian contingent of the peacekeeping forces was also targeted by the attacks.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati : Papal visit signals Lebanese unity
September 03, 2012/By Antoine Amrieh/The Daily Star
DIMAN, Lebanon: Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai Sunday to discuss preparations for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon which the premier said would strengthen unity in the county. “All Lebanese welcome the pope’s visit to Lebanon because it emphasizes the unity of the Lebanese people,” Mikati said after his meeting with Rai, which lasted over half an hour at the patriarch’s summer residence in Diman. The annual meeting between Mikati and Rai comes less than two weeks before the pope is scheduled to arrive.
Mikati was accompanied by a group of 1 ministers at Diman, including the ministerial committee that is tasked with organizing next week’s papal visit.
The prime minister said the government would help to increase the number of charter flights to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport to ensure that all Lebanese expatriates desiring to come to Lebanon for the papal visit would be able to do so. “We will organize charter flights to Beirut to welcome all Lebanese expatriates willing to visit Lebanon. I have also received positive feedback from religious and political figures in Tripoli ahead of the pope’s visit,” Mikati said.
The annual visit by a government delegation to the Maronite patriarch was also an occasion for Mikati’s Cabinet to receive support from Rai amid the March 14 coalition’s calls for the government to resign.
“Today we received additional support through our talks [with Rai] and the testimonies the ministers gave him in the meeting ... These testimonies reiterated our strong commitment toward working for the unity of the country and that our goal is to ensure peace,” said Mikati. Rai told Mikati that the government should work to address the daily socio-economic problems facing the country.
Mikati, who arrived in Diman shortly before noon Sunday, held a private meeting with Rai before moving into a larger hall where the ministers joined the talks between the patriarch and the prime minister.
“The annual meeting that takes place in Diman is important to discuss the various national and political issues that are facing the country and the region ... I can say that all the opinions expressed in this meeting emphasized safeguarding the unity of Lebanese territories and its people,” Mikati said. Asked about recent statements by Speaker Nabih Berri critical of Mikati, the prime minister said that he welcomed criticism of the manner in which the government is working to tackle the country’s problems. He described relations with Berri as “excellent,” despite the speaker’s blunt criticism of Mikati’s attitude toward the government. “We assure you that when Berri and I disagree in the morning, we have dinner together at night – let no one bet on our disagreements,” Mikati added.
Mikati said that heads of parliamentary blocs can sometimes disagree on policies and decisions within the government, but that doesn’t lead to a loss of trust between them.
According to Mikati, the reason behind Druze ministers’ absence at the meeting in Diman was not political but due to a conflict in schedule.
“We contacted the ministers and they expressed their willingness to visit Diman, which was originally set for Sept. 5, but when we had to reschedule the meeting for [Sunday], some ministers of the Progressive Socialist Party had previous commitments,” he said.
Relations between the PSP and other parliamentary blocs represented in the government are currently strained, owing mostly to PSP leader Walid Jumblatt’s open support for the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Parliament's Speaker Nabih Berri’s unity call wins praise from rival camps
September 03, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for national unity to avert much-feared sectarian strife as a result of the 17-month unrest in Syria has won praise from the opposition March 14 coalition, including former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Siniora, head of the opposition parliamentary Future bloc, phoned Berri Saturday, appreciating the speaker’s speech for “stressing national and Muslim unity, rejecting strife and calling for [serving] the higher Arab interest.”During the phone conversation, Siniora, an MP for the southern city of Sidon, expressed hope that Berri’s speech would be “a starting point for further contacts in the future.”
Speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, a source close to Siniora said the former premier would meet Berri over coffee in the next few days.
Denying reports of strained ties between the two men, the source pointed out that Berri and Siniora had frequently met in Parliament.
Berri spoke at a mass rally organized by his Amal Movement in the southern market town of Nabatieh Friday to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Imam Musa Sadr. He warned of sectarian strife in Lebanon and urged national unity to prevent the reverberations of the turmoil in Syria from spilling over into the politically divided country. Sadr and his two companions vanished during an official visit to Libya in 1978.
“We are living in a state of escalating worry of sectarian and confessional strife which is threatening brotherly countries,” Berri said in a clear reference to the ongoing sectarian violence in neighboring Syria.
Berri vowed not to be dragged into a sectarian conflict in Lebanon, but warned of Sunni-Shiite strife in the region. “I call on Muslims to be vigilant that the enemies of Islam are trying to take us into strife. We will not go into any strife.” Sidon MP Bahia Hariri, sister of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, also praised Berri’s speech, saying it reflected the speaker’s concerns over the grave situation in Lebanon as a result of the turmoil in Syria. “We salute Speaker Berri’s speech. His speech was very comforting and amounted to a cry and an appeal emanating from his feeling of the gravity of the situation,” she said during a meeting with parents’ committees from private and public schools in Sidon at her home in the town of Majdalyoun, east of the city.
“The people are very much worried about the situation and the state of insecurity. Although we cannot change the situation, we can reduce its impact through activities in schools.”
Hezbollah MP Nawaf Musawi also lauded Berri’s speech. “Speaker Berri’s stance is the same stance of Hezbollah, the resistance and the Amal Movement which rejects and prevents strife and does not threaten with it. It reflects the will of our political team,” he said in a speech in the southern town of Majdal Zoun.
Referring to Siniora’s phone conversation with Berri, Musawi said: “The contact entailed the virtue of acknowledging the sin of flouting the [sectarian] coexistence covenant and violating the Constitution by staying in power with a deficient government.”He was referring to Siniora’s government which stayed in office for over a year despite the withdrawal of Shiite ministers from it in December 2006 in a dispute over the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Pakistan imam held in 'blasphemy girl' case
By Masroor Gilani | AFP
A Pakistani cleric who accused a young Christian girl of blasphemy in a case that sparked international concern was remanded in custody Sunday on suspicion of evidence-tampering and desecrating the Koran. The girl, Rimsha, has been held in prison since being arrested in the poor Islamabad suburb of Mehrabad more than two weeks ago accused of burning papers containing verses from the Koran, in breach of Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws. A medical report last week said she had a mental age of less than 14 and her case has prompted concern among Western governments and anger from rights groups who say Pakistan's strict blasphemy legislation is often abused to settle personal scores. Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti, the imam of the mosque in Rimsha's area, who first gave police the burned papers as evidence against her, was detained by police on Saturday evening.
"The imam was arrested after his deputy Maulvi Zubair and two others told a magistrate he added pages from the Koran to the burnt pages brought to him by a witness," police investigator Munir Hussain Jaffri said. Zubair and the two others, Mohammad Shahzad and Awais Ahmed, said they had urged Chishti not to interfere with the papers, Jaffri said. "They protested that he should not add something to the evidence and he should give the evidence to the police as he got it and should not do this," Jaffri said."But they said Chishti said, 'You know this is the only way to expel the Christians from this area.'"
On August 24 Chishti told AFP he thought Rimsha had burned the pages deliberately as part of a Christian "conspiracy" to insult Muslims, and said action should have been taken sooner to stop what he called their "anti-Islam activities" in Mehrabad.
Jaffri said the cleric was arrested at his home on Saturday under the blasphemy law.
"By putting these pages in the ashes he also committed desecration of the Holy Koran and he is being charged with blasphemy," he said. Rimsha's lawyer Tahir Naveed Chaudhry said the case against her was fatally flawed. "This development has created doubts and under the law, the benefit of the doubt is always given to the accused," he told AFP.
"Now it has been fully proven that it was a conspiracy. We want that Rimsha should be acquitted immediately." Chishti, who arrived at court on Sunday blindfolded and handcuffed and guarded by armed police commandos, was remanded in custody for 14 days and will be held at the same jail as Rimsha. Speaking to reporters, Chishti said the allegations against him were "concocted".
Rao Abdur Raheem, the lawyer for Rimsha's accuser, her neighbour Hammad Malik, said the development was intended to "spoil" his case and he accused the authorities of interfering.
"They are pressurising the complainants and witnesses to facilitate the bail of Rimsha," he told the court. "They are making threats on behalf of the people sitting in the president's house."
A medical report earlier this week said Rimsha appeared to be around 14 years old, which would make her a minor, and had a mental age below her true age, but the court has yet to decide whether to accept the assessment. Some reports have said Rimsha has Down's Syndrome.
She is being held in a high-security jail in Islamabad's twin city Rawalpindi and on Friday a judge extended her remand for another two weeks.
On Sunday around 150 Christians and rights activists held a protest march in Rawalpindi calling for Rimsha's release.
Blasphemy is a very sensitive subject in the Pakistan, where 97 percent of the 180 million population are Muslims, and allegations of insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed often prompt a furious public reaction.