LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 07/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.august07.16.htm
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Bible Quotations For Today
The seed is the word of God. The
ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away
the word from their hearts
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 08/01-15/:"Jesus went on
through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the
kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been
cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven
demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna,
and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. When a great
crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a
parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the
path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the
rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and
when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.’ As he said this, he called out, ‘Let
anyone with ears to hear listen!’ Then his disciples asked him what this parable
meant. He said, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of
God; but to others I speak in parables, so that "looking they may not perceive,
and listening they may not understand."‘Now the parable is this: The seed is the
word of God. The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes
and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be
saved. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it
with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of
testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who
hear; but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and
pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. But as for that in the good
soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
For as long as there is
jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving
according to human inclinations
First Letter to the Corinthians 03/01-11/:"I could not speak to you as spiritual
people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with
milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are
still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is
jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving
according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and
another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? What then is Apollos?
What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to
each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one
who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the
growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and
each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s
servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to
the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation,
and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to
build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been
laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ."
Question: "What is the
difference between a Christian and a disciple?"
GotQuestions.org/Answer: The terms disciple and Christian are related but not
synonymous. The Greek term for “disciple” in the New Testament is mathetes,
which means more than just “student” or “learner.” A disciple is a “follower,”
someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule
of life and conduct. The Pharisees prided themselves in being disciples of Moses
(John 9:28). Jesus’ followers were called “disciples” long before they were ever
called “Christians.” Their discipleship began with Jesus’ call and required them
to exercise their will to follow Him (Matthew 9:9).
Jesus was quite explicit about the cost of following Him. Discipleship requires
a totally committed life: “Any of you who does not give up everything he has
cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Sacrifice is expected: “Jesus said to his
disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me’” (Matthew 16:24). Not all of Jesus’ followers were able to
make such a commitment. There were many who left Jesus after a while. “From this
time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him” (John 6:66).
Jesus used the term disciple but never Christian. The first instance of the word
Christian is found in the book of Acts: “The disciples were first called
Christians in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Most Bible scholars agree that it is
unlikely that the believers themselves thought up the name “Christians.” The
early church had other names for themselves, such as “disciples” (Acts 13:52;
20:1; 21:4) and “saints” (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Ephesians 1:1) and
“brothers” (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Peter 3:8). The name “Christian,” meaning
“belonging to Christ,” appears to have been invented by those outside of the
church. It was most likely meant as a derogatory term. Only two other times does
the word appear in the New Testament (Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). The idea that
the term Christian was originally a pejorative finds some support in 1 Peter
4:16: “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God
that you bear that name.”Biblically speaking, a Christian is a disciple of
Christ. A Christian is someone who has placed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
(John 1:12). A Christian has been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit
(John 3:3). A Christian “belongs to Christ” and is daily being transformed into
the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
A true Christian (and not one in name only) will have to be a disciple of Christ
as well. That is, he has counted the cost and has totally committed his life to
following Jesus. He accepts the call to sacrifice and follows wherever the Lord
leads. The Christian disciple completely adheres to the teaching of Jesus, makes
Christ his number-one priority, and lives accordingly. He is actively involved
in making other Christian disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). A true Christian
disciple is a believer in Christ and possesses new life through the indwelling
Holy Spirit. Because he loves Christ, a Christian will also be an obedient
disciple (John 14:15). Paul describes the reality of being a Christian disciple:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on August 06-07/16
Problems get bigger when you
do not face them/Elias Bejjani/August 06/16
Lebanese Olympics team stops Israelis from boarding shared bus/Ynetnews/August 06/16
Iran could have an operational nuke
by 2017 end/DEBKAfile Special Expose August 6, 2016
The forgotten Yazidi victims of an ISIS genocide/Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/August
06/16
Putin is playing both Trump and Obama/Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
Is ISIS winning the mind game/Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
Struggle for existence keeps Pokemon at bay in rural India/Ehtesham Shahid/Al
Arabiya/August 06/16
Nigeria's Muslim Government Targeting Christians; A Pass to Boko Haram/Con
Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/August 06/16
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on
on August 06-07/16
Problems get bigger when you
do not face them
Lebanese Olympics team stops
Israelis from boarding shared bus
Al-Rahi-Jumblat Mark 15th Anniversary of Mountain Reconciliation in Moukhtara
Report: Berri States Lebanon Approaching the Abyss
Ibrahim Vows Anti-Terror Victory despite 'Worrisome Security Situation'
ISF Arrest Mother of Three on Prostitution Charges
Jumblatt: To preserve Lebanon away from personal calculations, sectarian
interests
Cedars International Festival kicks off in Bcharre, pays tribute to Gebran
Khalil Gebran
Abu Faour representing Jumblatt in Rashaya: Dialogue opened new horizons for
constitutional reform
Franjieh, Sami Gemayel discuss developments
Hariri praises Mountain reconciliation
Hashem: Despite any dialogue agreements, presidential issue is the most
prominent
Higher Shariaa Council: Arabs should work together to save their countries,
people
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 06-07/16
Iranian Sunni cleric says executions may inflame regional tensions
Iran Reacts Angrily to U.N. Criticism over Executions
Rebels Turn Tables on Regime as IS Loses Syria Bastion
US not involved in Turkey coup attempt, ‘full stop,’ envoy says
Hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel end hunger strike
UN: Yemen talks in Kuwait end, peace efforts to continue
Yemen Rebels Name Governing Body, in Blow to Talks
Mainly Kurdish fighters control much of Syrian ISIS stronghold
Toll in northeast India market attack jumps to 15
Turkey ruling party orders purge after coup attempt
Saudi Arabia to help Germany investigate attacks
Iran: Heightened suppression of dissidents in Gohardasht Prison
Mothers group in Iran calls for end to death penalty
Links From Jihad Watch Site for
on August 06-07/16
Iran humiliates Obama with footage of $400 million ransom for
hostages
Germany: Jihad attackers had repeated contact with Islamic State jihadis in
Saudi Arabia
Boko Haram’s new top dog to old one: Mission was to kill “only Christians”
Syriac Catholic Patriarch: West “naive and complicit” in destruction of Middle
Eastern Christianity
Egypt: After years of torture and harassment, Christian convert returns to Islam
Belgium: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” attacks police officers with machete
Canada: Muslims who planted bombs at legislature freed: “police-manufactured
crime”
Daily Beast claims FBI goaded jihadis into attacking Garland free speech event
White House map shows Islamic State still expanding, contradicting public claims
France cancels Europe’s top flea market over jihad terror fears
on August 06-07/16
Problems get bigger when you
do not face themعدم مواجهة المشاكل يفاقمها ويعقدها
Elias Bejjani/August 06/16
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2016/08/06/elias-bejjani-problems-get-bigger-when-you-do-not-face-them-2/
How true and wise is our Lebanese proverb that says: “If you close your eyes in
a bid not to see the mountain, this does not change the fact that the mountain
is there and will remain in its place no matter what you do, think or say”.
In real life problems of all sorts and magnitudes are a reality that we have to
face and deal with.
One can either stand tall to face problems, and practically utilize all
available capabilities and resources to solve or contain them, or he can step
back, retreat, close his eyes and pretend they do not exist.
Meanwhile it is a proven fact that brushing problems under the carpet rather
than dealing with them is a wrong and disastrous approach that definitely leads
no where and always ends in making these problems bigger and worse.
n life we are forced to learn many survival strategies among which are
strategies needed to deal with problems.
Wisdom and intelligence require that no one should avoid, ignore, or
underestimate any problem. Problems that can not be solved must at least be
contained and not made a source for new problems.
In this context clear crystal stances are very important tools for success as
well as transparency, decency, modesty, self-confidence, hope and faith.
Lebanese Olympics team stops
Israelis from boarding shared bus
Ynetnews/August 06/16
Sailor Udi Gal, a member of Israel's Olympics delegation, says members of the
Lebanese delegation refused to let the Israelis ride the bus with them to the
Maracana stadium, where the opening ceremony was to take place.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Games began on a sour note for the Israeli delegation, but
not one relating to the actual competition. When the delegation was ready to
board the bus to the Maracana stadium in the Brazilian city, they were
physically prevented from doing so by the Lebanese delegation, already aboard,
according Israeli sailor Udi Gal.
“The 2016 Olympics – a disgrace!!” wrote Gal in a Facebook post. “(When)
Israel’s Olympic delegation got ready to board the bus for the opening ceremony,
it turned out the bus was shared with the Lebanese delegation. Once the members
of the Lebanese delegation realized they were (sharing the bus) with the Israeli
delegation, they asked the driver to close the door, with their delegation
leader heading (the effort).”
Gal claimed that the organizers tried to calm things down. “The organizers tried
to split us up to different buses, something which was not possible security and
representation-wise,” he wrote, “I insisted and we insisted that we get on the
intended bus, and if the Lebanese don’t want (to ride with us), they are welcome
to get off (of it). The bus driver opened the door, but this time the head of
the Lebanese delegation blocked the entrance with his body. The organizers tried
to prevent an international incident and sent us aside to a special (vehicle).”
Gal was surprised the organizers gave in to the pressure, writing, “How is it
that they let something like this happen, and on the opening night of the
Olympic Games? Isn’t this the opposite of what the Olympics represent and (don’t
the actions by the Lebanese delegation) work against it? I cannot describe the
way I feel. I’m enraged and shocked by this event.”
Lebanese delegation head, Salim al-Haj Nakoula gave the Lebanese press his
version of the story on Saturday. In an interview given to the An-Nahar
newspaper, Nakoula claimed that each delegation was to have its own bus. “There
are over 250 buses dedicated to transporting the delegations from the Olympic
village to the opening ceremony. After we boarded Bus 22, which was dedicated to
the Lebanese delegation, I was surprised by the Israeli delegation’s approaching
and wanting to get on the bus with us,” he said.
“I asked the driver to shut the door, but the guide who was there with the
Israeli delegation prevented him from doing so. I had to stand at the entrance
to the bus to block it, and prevent the (Israeli) delegation from coming in,”
Nakoula said. He claimed that the Israelis were trying to cause an incident on
purpose. “They have a bus of their own like all delegations. Why did they want
to get on the Lebanese delegation's bus?” he asked.
Head of the Israeli delegation to the Rio 2016 games, Gili Lustig, responded to
Nakoula by saying, “The organizing committee was the one that determined the
travel arrangements, and which bus we would take to the ceremony. The organizing
committee saw the rude behavior of the Lebanese delegation head and immediately
provided an alternate bus. The behavior of the Lebanese delegation head is in
conflict with the Olympic truce. As far as we are concerned, the whole thing is
behind us and we’re ready for the competitions.”
Lusting mentioned that the organization committee apologized for the incident.
“They pointed us at a bus with ten Lebanese people in it. It was an unwise
decision from the start and it’s too bad they didn’t think of that before. This
king of incident could have been prevented. We certainly don’t believe in
boycotts. The committee’s people tried to talk to the Lebanese, who refused to
accept us. It should be said that the busses were joint: They’d fill a bus, and
move on. They asked that we not make a scene ahead of the opening ceremony.”
Lebanese Minister of Youth and Sport Abdel Motaleb Hannawi told a Lebanese news
site that this was not the first time Israel has attempted to embarrass a
Lebanese delegation in this kind of circumstance. He praised the delegation’s
behavior, Nakoula’s specifically. “His stance was principled and patriotic,” he
said. Nakoula became the hero of the day in Lebanon after the incident was
publicized. The Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar news networks, both associated with
Hezbollah, gave Nakoula praise, with the latter also interviewing him. Hezbollah
supporters and officials praised him on social media, with one Al-Manar
broadcaster tweeting, “The Israelis were sent away from the bus because
normalization (with Israel) is not to be had in any form, and because the
Lebanese identity (is that of) resistance. Be proud to be Lebanese.”
**Nadav Zenziper, Oren Aharoni, and Roi Kais contributed to this report.
Al-Rahi-Jumblat Mark 15th
Anniversary of Mountain Reconciliation in Moukhtara
Naharnet/August 06/16/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi visited Mount Lebanon
on Sunday where he marked the 15th anniversary of the mountain reconciliation
between the Christians and Druze and to inaugurate a church in the Shouf town of
al-Moukhtara. Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and Lebanese
Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan received the Patriarch in the presence of
former President Amin Gemayel, Michel Suleiman, former minister Walid Daouk
representing ex-PM Najib Miqati, Papal Ambassador to Lebanon Gabriel Caccia, MP
Ali Fayyad, Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji and a number of bishops and
priests. Rahi headed a mass at the al-Saydeh Church in Moukhtara where he marked
the anniversary. He said: “On this occasion we are all committed, each from his
own position, to continue this conciliation and provide it with the spiritual,
economic and social frameworks to protect the mountain area.”He highlighted the
necessity to primarily elect a president before addressing other pending issues
in the country, he said: “What is the point of addressing issues before electing
a head of state.”For his part, the Druze leader Jumblat assured that there will
be no return to any mountain war, he said: “No return to war. Lebanon provides a
unique example of diversity and we are committed to coexistence.”Earlier, Bkirki
sources had told al-Joumhouria daily that al-Rahi will “focus on the importance
of coexistence between the Christians and Druze, and will reinforce the
reconciliation between the two communities.”The 1983 Mountain War occurred at
the mountainous Shouf District located south-east of the capital Beirut between
the Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Forces. The Lebanese Forces was
driven out of the area and Christian civilians in Shouf, mainly the mixed town
of Brih, were displaced. The reconciliation was first initiated by former
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in 2001.
Report: Berri States Lebanon
Approaching the Abyss
Naharnet/August 06/16/Speaker Nabih Berri expressed fears that the country is
approaching the “verge of the abyss” if the deadlock in Lebanon’s political work
prolongs and a vacuum at the presidential post lingers, al-Joumhouria daily
reported on Sunday. “The country can no longer tolerate. What do I do to make
everyone believe that we are in danger and approaching the abyss?” Berri told
the daily. He assured that he has kicked off efforts to solve the presidential
issue and that he will not stop. “I have informed the parties to the dialogue
table of the possibility of electing a president before the end of the year,” he
pointed out. Sounding an alarm, Berri said: “We are crazy if we couldn't elect a
president or achieve solutions before the end of the year. I could have sworn
that the country is going to the ruins if we do not address it before it's too
late, not just at the presidential level but there are other financial and
economic risks.”“I can only be optimistic and the responsibility lies on all the
parties.” Heads of parliamentary blocs met at the national dialogue for three
consecutive days to tackle several pending and controversial issues including
the election of a president, the formation of a new government and a new voting
system. The interlocutors failed to come out with a clear agreement on any of
the topics and have therefore scheduled an extra meeting for September 5.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in
May 2014 and Hizbullah, MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of
their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping
them of the needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who
is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada
Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met
with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse his
longtime Christian foe Aoun for the presidency after their two parties reached a
political rapprochement agreement following months of deliberations. The
supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than
Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his
bigger influence in the Christian community.
Ibrahim Vows Anti-Terror
Victory despite 'Worrisome Security Situation'
Naharnet/August 06/16/General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has
stressed that Lebanon will win the battle against terrorism although he
described the current security situation in the country as “worrisome.”“We will
emerge victorious from the anti-terror fight, because defeat means the end of
Lebanon,” said Ibrahim in an interview with General Security Magazine. “We
fought the toughest confrontations against terrorism and tougher challenges
await us,” he added. “The current situation is worrisome and it ranges from
critical to dangerous,” the major general warned. Separately, Ibrahim cautioned
that the naturalization of refugees in the country would be equivalent to an
“immediate war,” calling on politicians to “end their bets on foreign
developments and their attempts to import solutions from abroad.”He also noted
that security agencies are seeing to build “a secure state, not a police state.”
The country has been on high security alert since the unprecedented suicide
bombings that hit the Christian border town of al-Qaa in late June. Scores of
people have been arrested in a major crackdown on Syrian refugee encampments and
gatherings and security agencies have upped their measures across Lebanon.
Al-Qaa's blasts occurred after the arrest of several Islamic State-linked cells
plotting bombings in the country and amid a flurry of media reports about
possible attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. In the latest developments,
the army carried out raids Friday in al-Qaa's outskirts and searched Syrian
encampments in the area a day after a special forces raid in the outskirts of
the nearby town of Arsal that resulted in the death of a senior IS militant and
the arrest of three others. Militants from IS and Fateh al-Sham Front, formerly
al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front, are entrenched in rugged areas along the
undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army regularly shells their posts
while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in clashes with them on the
Syrian side of the border.The two groups briefly overran the town of Arsal in
August 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.
ISF Arrest Mother of Three on
Prostitution Charges
Naharnet/August 06/16/The Internal Security Forces said that a Syrian woman was
put under arrest on prostitution charges in the southern suburb of Mreijeh, an
ISF statement said on Saturday. ISF said that the Mreijeh police “obtained
information from unknown sources about a woman, Z. B., who was practicing
prostitutions while leaving her three children in an “inappropriate place” where
they were subject to humiliation and beating.”“Investigations were kicked off
and a police unit arrested the Syrian female on 6/8/2016,” added the statement.
The woman admitted, during interrogations, that she works as a dancer in a
restaurant and provides prostitutions services in return for sums of money. The
detainee was transferred to the Counter Human Trafficking and Morals Protection
Bureau, while the children were handed to their grandmother based on a judicial
order. On Friday, ISF arrested a Russian woman at Beirut's Rafik Hariri
International Airport on charges of running a prostitution and sex trafficking
network operating in Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The
woman was apprehended by the anti-vice unit of the Internal Security Forces,
reports had said. An ISF statement said the woman had been wanted on an Interpol
arrest warrant issued from Cairo.
Jumblatt: To preserve Lebanon
away from personal calculations, sectarian interests
Sat 06 Aug 2016/NNA - Progressive Socialist Party Leader (PSP), MP Walid
Jumblatt, highlighted the importance of Patriarch Bshara Rai's visit to the
Mountain on Saturday, underscoring that his visit to Mukhtara today "reflected
keenness on preserving rapprochement and coexistence among the Lebanese."
Jumblatt also called on all officials to keep Lebanon away from any personal
calculations and sectarian interests. MP Jumblatt's words came during the 15th
commemoration of the Mountain's reconciliation, and marking the inauguration of
"Our Lady's Church" in Mukhtara, in presence of a number of prominent political
figures. He affirmed that Lebanon can provide a unique example in protecting
pluralism and diversity through constant reconciliations, national unity, civil
peace, coexistence and dialogue.
Cedars International Festival
kicks off in Bcharre, pays tribute to Gebran Khalil Gebran
Fri 05 Aug 2016 /NNA - Cedars International Festival kicked off on Friday, for
the second consecutive year, in Bcharre, with special homage made to renowned
Lebanese author Gebran Khalil Gebran, in presence of a crowd of politicians,
journalists, and dignitaries.
In her opening speech, MP Strida Geagea renewed determination to entrench the
Lebanese further in their land and their nation. "We will proudly and certainly
hold this festival every year, from the Cedars of God forest, to revive
Lebanon's glory, heritage, and art," she said.
"We shall carry on spreading the concepts of freedom, arts, and joy throughout
Lebanon that is suffering, as well as throughout this dark East that is engulfed
wit extremism, violence, anarchy, and terrorism," she added. Fireworks later
went off, before Lebanese icon Majida Roumi appeared on stage, and opened the
festival's first night.
Abu Faour representing
Jumblatt in Rashaya: Dialogue opened new horizons for constitutional reform
Sat 06 Aug 2016 /NNA - Public Health Minister, Wael Abu Faour, stressed on the
need to "accord dialogue its valued importance, without underestimating its
worthiness and positive effects," adding that "dialogue has opened new horizons
for constitutional reform." "We might reach the moment of maturity concerning
the presidential dossier anytime," added Abu Faour, while encouraging political
officials to be aware of "the continuous incitement with regards to the
Lebanese-Syrian differences." "There is no other option or choice before the
Lebanese but understanding and agreement," he underscored. Abu Faour's words
came in his speech on behalf of Democratic Gathering Head, MP Walid Jumblatt, at
the annual gala dinner organized by the "Horizons" Association Fund in support
of patients held in Rashaya on Friday.
Franjieh, Sami Gemayel
discuss developments
Sat 06 Aug 2016/NNA -
Marada leader MP Sleiman Franjieh welcomed on Saturday at his residence in
Bnechii Al- Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel with discussions featured high on
various current developments. Minister Alain Hakim, Mp Samer Saadeh Kataeb
political Bureau members Abdallah Richa and Mounir Al-Deek accompanied Gemayel
in his visit and attended the meeting between Franjieh and Gemayel in addition
to Former minister Youssef Saadeh, Ziad Makari, and Marada media relations
official lawyer Sleiman Franjieh.
Hariri praises Mountain
reconciliation
Sat 06 Aug 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, praised on Saturday
the Mountain reconciliation, thanks to Progressive Socialist Party Walid
Jumblatt, Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir who set the foundation of the said
reconciliation, saluting Patriarch Bshara Rai who carries on the efforts in this
context. Hariri's position came via Twitter, adding who this reconciliation laid
a solid foundation of coexistence among the Lebanese.
Hashem: Despite any dialogue
agreements, presidential issue is the most prominent
Sat 06 Aug 2016/NNA - "Liberation and Development" bloc member, Deputy Kassem
Hashem, considered on Saturday, that the presidential issue will remain the most
prominent item no matter what agreements will be made at the dialogue table.
During an interview on Voice of Lebanon Radio station, Deputy Hashem expressed
optimism over items discussed at the dialogue table such as administrative
decentralization or the Senate, describing that "as a progress" adding that the
"Taef agreement was a periodic compromise for a difficult stage." Commenting on
Hezbollah-Future dialogue, Hashem qualified this approach as positive and
contributes to calm tension in the country. Commenting on a new electoral law,
Hashem noted that the Mixed Law was dissolved after the dialogue session. The
lawmaker explained that agreeing on an electoral law requires a political
consensus, considering that adopting proportionality in parliamentary elections
the ideal solution.
Higher Shariaa Council: Arabs
should work together to save their countries, people
Sat 06 Aug 2016/NNA - The Higher Shariaa Council urged on Saturday the Arab
leaders to work together to save their countries and people. The Council calls
came in a statement issued after the Council's regular meeting on Saturday which
took place under the chairmanship of Lebanese Republic Mufti Sheikh Abdellatif
Daryan. The Council discussed in addition to its agenda items the Arab and
national developments. The attendees sorrowfully referred to the negative
outcome of the national dialogue, saying that "the Lebanese do not deserve from
some of their politicians all this negligence and ignorance to their national
duties as for the election of a new president and the activation of the
administrative and constitutional institutions." The attendees called upon all
the Lebanese to press by all legitimate means on the politicians to end
presidential vacuum and take care of the citizens' economic and living affairs.
They saluted the Pope Francis'" fair vision to the Islamic religion and the
Christian-Islamic relations," praising his stance against the hate calls against
Islam. The attendees also condemned "killing and terrorism works in the name of
religion whether in the world or at our homelands," hoping the Islamic-Christian
relations maintains its good status. The attendees also condemned the Israeli
attacks against Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as against the Palestinians,
calling upon the Arab and Islamic countries and the World organizations "to
deter these criminal works carried out by the Zionist entity."
Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
on August 06-07/16
Iranian Sunni cleric says executions may inflame regional tensions
Reuters, Dubai Saturday, 6 August 2016/A leading Iranian Sunni Muslim said the
execution of Sunni Islamists last week could inflame sectarian tensions in the
Gulf region, while Tehran said it was merely taking a tough stance on
foreign-backed terrorism. Iran executed up to 20 Sunni Kurds accused of attacks
on security forces. There were no public trials and rights groups said the
convictions may have been based on forced confessions. UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Friday that “overly broad and vague
criminal charges” had led to “a grave injustice.”Iran’s Foreign Ministry
expressed surprise at the remarks. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has always
taken forceful policy measures to counter regional terrorist groups supported by
foreign countries,” ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by
state news agency IRNA. Molavi Abdolhamid, a leading Sunni cleric in Iran said
the executions lacked “forethought and tolerance” at a time when Iran and the
whole region were suffering from extremism. “Our main complaint is that the
sensitive situation in our region has not been considered in these executions,”
Abdolhamid, who is regarded as a spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni minority,
said on his website. Iran and the Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia - the Gulf region’s
two rival powers - accuse each other of trying to exploit sectarian differences
to sow discontent in the other country. In January, Saudi Arabia executed a
prominent Shiite Muslim cleric along with dozens of Sunni militants, causing
outrage in Iran. Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world.
Amnesty International says at least 977 people were put to death there in 2015,
compared to 320 in Pakistan and at least 158 in Saudi Arabia.
Iran
Reacts Angrily to U.N. Criticism over Executions
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 06/16/Iran's state TV is reporting that the
Iranian foreign ministry has reacted angrily to U.N. criticism of the country's
execution of 20 Kurdish militants earlier this month. The Saturday report on
Iran's state TV website quotes foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as
accusing the West of meddling in internal Iranian affairs. Ghasemi says, "while
Iran is itself victim of terrorism, it will do its best to maintain the safety
of its citizens."His comments follow a Friday statement from the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, criticizing Iran for the
executions.
Ghasemi says that the judiciary had found the 20 men guilty of several charges,
including attempting to establish a militant group, making explosives and
planting bombs in Iranian cities.
Rebels Turn Tables on Regime as IS Loses Syria Bastion
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/16/Jihadists and rebels captured
strategic military positions on the edges of Syria's second city Aleppo on
Saturday, turning the tables on Russian-backed regime forces besieging the city.
To the northeast, a Western-backed alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters scored
a major victory against the Islamic State group in the town of Manbij after a
fierce two-month battle. The developments have rocked the key northern province
of Aleppo, a microcosm of Syria's topsy-turvy, multi-front war that has killed
more than 280,000 people. Rebel and regime forces have fought for control of the
provincial capital of the same name since mid-2012, transforming the former
economic powerhouse into a divided, bombed-out city. On Saturday, opposition
fighters and allied jihadists captured fresh territory south of Aleppo in a bid
to cut off regime forces and open up a new route into besieged rebel-held
districts. "The Army of Conquest on Saturday took control of the armament
school, where there is a large amount of ammunitions, and a large part of the
artillery school" at a military academy south of the city, said the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights. The coalition of rebels, Islamists, and jihadists
"is about to cut off, by gunfire, the supply route into government-controlled
districts" of the city, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. That road
passes through a southwestern suburb of Aleppo called Ramussa and is the last
route into the city used by regime troops. Opposition forces in the city --
encircled by the government since July 17 -- are hoping to expand their control
in the area and use that route themselves. - IS defeat in Manbij -"The regime
forces are in a very difficult position despite Russian air support," Abdel
Rahman said. The former Al-Nusra Front -- renamed Jabhat Fateh al-Sham after
breaking from Al-Qaeda -- on Saturday announced having captured the two military
academies and a third military position. Drone footage posted by the group
online showed a series of explosions in some of those buildings, followed by
massive columns of billowing black smoke. State media reported fighting in the
three locations and said the army had dispatched reinforcements to take on
"thousands of terrorist fighters". Regime forces, with air support by key ally
Moscow, had initially been able to hold off the rebels, who launched their
offensive on Sunday. Also on Saturday, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces
handed a major defeat to Islamic State group jihadists in the town of Manbij.
The Britain-based Observatory said the SDF "took control of Manbij on Saturday
and are combing the city in search of the last remaining jihadists." The town
had served as a key transit point along IS's supply route from the Turkish
border to Raqa, the de facto capital of its self-styled Islamic "caliphate". The
SDF launched its offensive on May 31 with air support from the U.S.-led air
coalition bombing IS in Syria since September 2014. It encircled the town in
early June and surged into it later that month, but its assault was slowed by a
fierce jihadist fightback using suicide attackers and car bombs. A spokesman for
the Manbij Military Council -- a key component of the SDF -- said fighting was
still ongoing in the town. "The battles are continuing near the center of the
town. We are in control of 90 percent of Manbij," Sherfan Darwish told Agence
France Presse. Formed in October 2015, the SDF has seized swathes of territory
in north and northeast Syria from IS. Syria's conflict first erupted in March
2011 with anti-government protests but has since evolved into a fully-fledged
war largely dominated by jihadist groups. As well as killing more than 280,000
people, it has forced half the population to flee their homes, including nearly
five million seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
US
not involved in Turkey coup attempt, ‘full stop,’ envoy says
AFP, Istanbul Saturday, 6 August 2016/The United States’ ambassador to Turkey
has again denied allegations his country was involved in last month’s failed
coup attempt, Turkish media reported Saturday. “I just want to say again, as
I’ve said before and as we’ve said from Washington, the United States government
did not plan, direct, support or have any advance knowledge of any of the
illegal activities that occurred the night of July 15 and into July 16. Full
stop,” US ambassador John Bass said in remarks published in English daily
Hurriyet Daily News. He added that he was “deeply disturbed and offended by the
accusations” targeting his country. The July 15 military action blamed by Ankara
on US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen has rattled Turkey’s relations with
the United States and the European Union. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
accused the West of supporting the plotters and warned Washington that relations
will suffer if it fails to extradite Pennsylvania-based Gulen. Erdogan has also
accused the US of hiding and sheltering the preacher and described the failed
military action as a “scenario written from outside” in an allusion to foreign
involvement. Shortly after the coup attempt, Labor Minister Suleyman Soylu went
even further to say “the United States is behind the coup.”And this week,
Turkey’s former army chief, Ilker Basbug, claimed that the US Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) was also behind it. “Frankly, if we would have had
knowledge we would have told the Turkish government about it immediately,” Bass
said. He said the US wants to see a “strong, prosperous, democratic, confident
Turkey. “Anyone who thinks that the United States somehow profits from Turkey
being divided and destabilized I think is misreading history to a profound
degree.” Three days after the failed coup, Bass rebutted claims his country
somehow supported the putsch. “This is categorically untrue, and such
speculation is harmful to the decades-long friendship between two great
nations,” he said in a statement on the embassy website.
Hundreds of Palestinians held
by Israel end hunger strike
AFP, Ramallah Saturday, 6 August 2016/More than 300 Palestinian prisoners on
Saturday halted a hunger strike after Israel prison authorities agreed to end
“humiliating” body searches and return recently transferred prisoners, a rights
group said. The detainees, all members of the Islamist Hamas movement, started
the strike on Wednesday to protest a prison crackdown during which some were
placed in solitary confinement, personal belongings seized and prisoners
transferred to other facilities. They agreed to end the strike after prison
authorities said they would “stop humiliating naked body searches” and “return
recently transferred prisoners,” the Palestinian Prisoners Club said. The Israel
Prisons Service said on Friday that it had moved Hamas prisoners, searched cells
and seized mobile phones earlier in the week, acting on “intelligence
information about direction of terror from inside prisons.” But dozens of
prisoners from the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
continued on Saturday to refuse food in solidarity with prisoner Bilal Kayed,
who has been fasting for 53 days over his detention without trial, said the
Prisoners Club. Kayed was to be released in June after serving a
14-and-a-half-year sentence for activities in the PFLP, labelled a terrorist
organization by Israel, the European Union and the United States. Instead,
Israeli authorities ordered that he remain in custody under the administrative
detention law, which allows prisoners to be held without trial for renewable
six-month periods. Kayed, 35, is suffering from failing kidneys and has lost at
least 30 kilos (65 pounds), Palestinian officials say. Israel says
administrative detention allows authorities to hold suspects while continuing to
gather evidence, while Palestinians, human rights groups and members of the
international community have criticized the system. Of more than 7,500
Palestinians currently in Israeli jails, around 700 are being held under
administrative detention, Palestinian rights groups say. Palestinians have
regularly gone on hunger strike in protest at their detention.
UN: Yemen talks in Kuwait
end, peace efforts to continue
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 6 August 2016/UN envoy to Yemen
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced on Saturday the end of Yemen peace talks in
Kuwait, but said negotiation between the two Yemeni warring sides will resume
within a month. “Yemen peace talks will resume in a month, and the location will
be decided later,” Ould Cheikh Ahmed told reporters during a press conference in
Kuwait. The UN, meanwhile, did not ask Kuwait to hots the second rounds of
talks, Ould Cheikh Ahmed said. The envoy thanked the two sides: the
internationally recognized government of Abedrabu Mansur Hadi, and the
Iran-backed Houthi militias and their allied former Yemeni President Ali
Abdullah Saleh and his loyalists. The diplomat said bringing the two sides “at
one negotiation table was an achievement in itself,” but said “trust was
missing,” calling to implement measures to build “trust” between the two. The
envoy highlighted nine points as recommendation for the two, including the
release of all political prisoners and bringing military experts to the next
round of talks. He said: “We will leave the two sides time to consult with their
leadership.”The envoy rejected that the talks in Kuwait have failed, and
criticized any “unilateral” steps taken by any of the two sides. But he did not
make any further mention of how the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh on
Saturday appointed a council set up to govern Yemen, in a new blow to the
UN-mediated peace talks. The militia alliance announced the creation of the
council on July 28, a move denounced by Yemen’s internationally recognized
government. Ould Cheikh Ahmed said previously it would damage the talks and
represented a “grave breach” of UN Security Council Resolution 2216. The council
includes 10 members, equally divided between Houthi and Saleh loyalists,
according to a list published by the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency on
Saturday. They include Salah al-Sammad, head of the Houthis’ political wing
Ansarullah, and Sadek Abu Ras, deputy head of Saleh’s party, the General
People’s Congress. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is expected to announce the suspension of
the talks on Saturday in Kuwait, in the presence of the Houthis and government
delegations. The UN envoy told Kuwaiti TV on Thursday that he hopes to relaunch
talks in the future. The talks began on April 21 but broke down last month when
the Houthis rejected a UN peace plan, saying any settlement must include the
formation of a unity government. That amounts to an explicit demand for the
removal of the internationally recognized president, Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The
Yemeni government had been ready to accept the UN plan, but its delegation left
Kuwait on Monday until the Houthis agree to the proposed accord. The draft plan
called on the Houthis to withdraw from territories they had occupied and give up
heavy weapons they had seized from the army. The two sides would also exchange
prisoners before the launch of political negotiations. The plan was presented as
the UN’s final proposal to resolve a conflict that has left at least 6,400
people dead and displaced 2.8 million. Yemen has been in chaos since the Houthis
entered Sanaa in September 2014. Neighboring Saudi Arabia, which says the
Houthis are backed by Iran, formed a coalition and launched a campaign of air
strikes in March 2015 to push the Houthis back. Despite heavy bombing, the
Houthis still control the capital and much of northern Yemen. (With AFP)
Yemen
Rebels Name Governing Body, in Blow to Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/16/Shiite Huthi rebels and forces loyal
to former president Ali Abdallah Saleh on Saturday appointed a council set up to
govern Yemen, in a new blow to UN-mediated peace talks. The announcement came as
the United Nations prepared to suspend peace talks in Kuwait. The rebel alliance
announced the creation of the council on July 28, a move denounced by Yemen's
internationally recognised government. UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said it
would damage the talks and represented a "grave breach" of UN Security Council
Resolution 2216. The council includes 10 members, equally divided between Huthi
and Saleh loyalists, according to a list published by the Huthi-controlled Saba
news agency on Saturday. They include Salah al-Sammad, head of the Huthis'
political wing Ansarullah, and Sadek Abu Ras, deputy head of Saleh's party, the
General People's Congress. Ould Cheikh Ahmed is expected to announce the
suspension of the talks on Saturday in Kuwait, in the presence of rebel and
government delegations. The UN envoy told Kuwaiti TV on Thursday that he hopes
to relaunch talks in the future. The talks began on April 21 but broke down last
month when the rebels rejected a UN peace plan, saying any settlement must
include the formation of a unity government. That amounts to an explicit demand
for the removal of the internationally recognised president, Abedrabbo Mansour
Hadi. The Yemeni government had been ready to accept the UN plan, but its
delegation left Kuwait on Monday until the rebels agree to the proposed accord.
The draft plan called on the rebels to withdraw from territories they had
occupied and give up heavy weapons they had seized from the army. The two sides
would also exchange prisoners before the launch of political negotiations. The
plan was presented as the UN's final proposal to resolve a conflict that has
left at least 6,400 people dead and displaced 2.8 million. Yemen has been in
chaos since the Huthis entered Sanaa in September 2014. Neighbouring Saudi
Arabia, which says the Huthis are backed by Iran, formed a coalition and
launched a campaign of air strikes in March 2015 to push the Shiite rebels back.
Despite heavy bombing, the Huthis still control the capital and much of northern
Yemen.
Mainly Kurdish fighters
control much of Syrian ISIS stronghold
The Associated Press, Beirut Saturday, 6 August 2016/Activists say predominantly
Kurdish fighters are now in control of most of a stronghold of the ISIS in
northern Syria after a push under the cover of airstrikes by the US-led
coalition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Syria
Democratic Forces are in control of most of the town of Manbij amid fighting in
northern neighborhoods and the town’s center. Mustafa Bali, a Syria-based
Kurdish activist, said Saturday that ISIS still holds some areas in Manbij,
including the major northwestern neighborhood of Sarab. Bali said “it’s a matter
of time” before SDF fighters capture the town. If Manbij is captured by SDF, it
will be the biggest strategic defeat for ISIS in Syria since July 2015, when the
extremists lost the border town of Tal Abyad.
Toll in northeast India
market attack jumps to 15
AFP, Kokrajhar Saturday, 6 August 2016/The death toll from an attack in India’s
northeastern Assam state, where gunmen opened fire on a busy market, jumped to
15 on Saturday as three more people succumbed to their injuries. The dead
included a militant from a faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of
Bodoland (NDFB), which has waged a decades-long campaign for an independent
homeland for the indigenous Bodo people. Police say that around six gunmen were
behind Friday’s attack, one of whom was later killed by security forces who were
searching for the other attackers.
“One person died on Saturday morning and another two succumbed to their injuries
overnight. The death toll from the attack is now 15 including one militant,”
Assam state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told AFP on Saturday. Sarma said
that around 900 soldiers and police reinforcements had reached the site of the
attack in Balajan, around 220 kilometers (140 miles) west of Assam’s main city
of Guwahati and near the border with Bhutan. “They have started a massive
combing operation for the attackers and are being supported by the security
forces on other side of the international border,” he added.
Assam’s newly elected Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal, from Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), condemned the killings and pledged
strong action against the perpetrators. On Friday, Modi too expressed his grief
at the loss of life on Twitter. “Saddened by the attack in Kokrajhar (district).
We strongly condemn it. Thoughts & prayers with the bereaved families & those
injured,” the prime minister said. Northeast India, which is linked to the rest
of the country by a narrow land bridge, has seen decades of unrest among ethnic
and separatist groups. Assam has been relatively peaceful in recent years, but
tensions between the Bodo and other communities in the area persist,
particularly over land rights. Bodo guerrillas have in recent years launched
ferocious attacks on both Muslim settlers and other tribal communities in the
tea-growing state of Assam.
In 2014 thousands of people fled their homes in Assam after a series of
coordinated attacks by armed rebels left at least 69 people dead, 18 of them
children. Two years earlier, ethnic clashes in the same area claimed about 100
lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.
Turkey ruling party orders
purge after coup attempt
AFP, Istanbul Saturday, 6 August 2016/Turkey’s ruling party on Friday ordered a
purge from its ranks of supporters of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen,
accused of plotting last month’s failed coup. The “urgent clean-up in the party
organization” was aimed at expelling those linked with the Fethullah Terrorist
Organization, as Ankara calls the movement blamed for the July 15 attempted
putsch, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. It comes as Turkey announced a
visit later this month from US Secretary of State John Kerry, which would be the
first by a western diplomat since the failed effort to unseat President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Turkey’s hardline response to the coup has
escalated tensions with Europe, while the United States, where Gulen has been in
self-imposed exile since 1999, has not yet confirmed the key visit by its top
diplomat. Ankara has accused Erdogan’s arch-foe Gulen of running a “parallel
state” and on Thursday issued a warrant for his arrest for “ordering the July 15
coup”, which the reclusive cleric vehemently denies. The Muslim cleric has
denounced the arrest warrant as meaningless, and his lawyer told reporters in
Washington Friday that Turkey did not have any evidence linking Gulen to the
failed coup. “We haven’t seen any evidence, direct or indirect… a scintilla of
evidence, electronic or otherwise, implicating Mr Gulen,” said attorney Reid
Weingarten. Turkey has frequently called on the United States to extradite Gulen,
sending documents to Washington as evidence of his alleged involvement in the
putsch attempt. But Weingarten accused Erdogan of betting on “power and
politics” to make Washington grant the extradition. “The bottom line is that the
conspiracy theories and the threats of Mr Erdogan are not strong enough to
overwhelm the American legal system. And for these reasons, we believe that Mr
Gulen should not and will not be extradited,” Weingarten said.
Turkish authorities have implemented a relentless crackdown in the wake of the
coup. Over 60,000 people within the military, judiciary, civil service and
education have been dismissed, detained or are currently under investigation for
suspected links to the Gulen movement. A German national has also been caught up
in the purge, Berlin confirmed Friday. A woman was arrested several days ago
after books were found at her home suggesting she had links with the Gulen
movement or was a member of it. The German embassy in Ankara has been trying to
contact the woman for several days, without success, said the Sueddeutsche
Zeitung newspaper, which initially reported the arrest. Turkey is also pressing
Kazakhstan over its schools linked to Gulen, with Erdogan expressing the hope on
Friday that the Central Asian country would take steps to close them. “They (Gulenists)
have 33 schools in Kazakhstan. We have delivered them the list,” Erdogan told
reporters in Ankara with Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first
foreign head of state to visit Turkey after the failed coup.The Kazakh leader
said 90,000 students were registered at those schools. “If there are any among
them linked with terrorism… we will respond to Turkey’s demand,” he said.
Ankara’s crackdown on the Gulen movement has also targeted journalists accused
of links to the preacher. Twelve out of 14 journalist suspects from the Zaman
daily were remanded in custody, Anadolu reported on Friday, less than a week
after six others were arrested. Mumtazer Turkone, former columnist of the
newspaper, was one of the journalists arrested by an Istanbul court, on charges
of “serving FETO’s purposes,” it added. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu escalated a war of words with Austria on Friday, calling it the
“capital of radical racism” after Vienna urged an end to Ankara’s EU membership
talks. “Racism is an enemy of human rights and humanitarian values and the
Austrian chancellor should first look at his own country,” he told TGRT news
channel. “Austria is the capital of radical racism,” he added. Reacting on
Twitter soon after Cavusoglu made those comments, Austrian Foreign Minister
Sebastian Kurz urged his counterpart to “exercise restraint.” “Turkey needs to
moderate its choice of words and actions,” he said.
Saudi Arabia to help Germany
investigate attacks
Reuters, Berlin Saturday, 6 August 2016/Saudi Arabia has offered to help German
investigators find those behind extremist bomb and axe attacks in July, news
magazine Der Spiegel reported on Saturday, citing a senior member of the Saudi
government. Saudi authorities are in contact with their German colleagues,
responding to new findings that show both attackers were in close contact via a
chat conversation with possible ISIS backers from Saudi Arabia, Spiegel said.
Traces of the chat, which investigators have been able to reconstruct, indicate
that both men were not only influenced by but also took instructions from
people, as yet unidentified, up until the attacks, the report said. ISIS has
claimed responsibility for an attack on July 18 near Wuerzburg in Bavaria in
which a 17-year-old refugee believed to be from Pakistan or Afghanistan wounded
five people with an axe before police shot him dead. A 27-year-old Syrian who
blew himself up in Ansbach, southern Germany on July 24 had pledged allegiance
to ISIS on a video found on his mobile phone, investigators said. ISIS claimed
responsibility for the bombing, which wounded 15 people. Bavaria’s Interior
Minister said at the end of July that the Ansbach bomber had been “significantly
influenced” in a chat conversation on his mobile phone that ended just before
the attack.
Iran:
Heightened suppression of dissidents in Gohardasht Prison
Saturday, 06 August 2016/NCRI - According to reports from Iran's notorious
Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran, the atmosphere
of the prison and meeting halls in recent days has become security-intense. The
level of check and control of visitors is more than usual. During family visits
to inmates, plainclothes groups were patrolling and controlling the meeting hall
and prison yard. Outside the prison, soldiers are on alert. All these
circumstances indicate the prison authorities’ fear of a reaction by prisoners
and their families to the mass execution of Sunni political prisoners earlier in
the week.
Political prisoners in Gohardasht Prison have expressed concern about the
situation of their cellmates – PMOI (MEK) supporters Afshin Baymani, Saleh
Kohandel and Pirouz Mansouri -who were transferred to solitary confinement on
August 1. According to them, some of the prisoners were suffering from different
diseases and are not in a good situation in the new conditions. On Thursday,
August 4, political prisoners of Hall 21 of Section 7 of Gohardasht were on
their third day of hunger strike to protest the recent cruel executions. Prison
guards raided this hall, beat the prisoners, destroyed and stole their
belongings and threatened them with execution. The criminal wardens kept the
prisoners blindfolded with their hands and feet shackled for nearly seven hours
exposed to the sun and hot temperatures in the prison yard.The prisoners went on
hunger strike on August 2.
Mothers group in Iran calls
for end to death penalty
Friday, 05 August 2016 /NCRI - The mothers of Sunni political prisoners mass
executed this week in Iran have released a statement condemning the mass
execution of their children at Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj,
north-west of Tehran, earlier this week. The statement read: “The successive
executions brought death to our children without any trial, lawyer, due process
or [regard] for international laws.”They recount their collective grief for
those children murdered by the Iranian regime. They said: “In the past few
decades, many women have mourned the death of their children in the darkness and
solitude. They shed tears and nobody wiped them away or consoled them…We, as
mothers, know that the suffering from the loss of a child is endless; no matter
if they die by a rope or gunshot. The suffering never fades away and the
nightmares do not leave us.”Their statement said that many such mothers were not
allowed to bury their children, sometimes prevented from even knowing where the
regime had buried them. They searched for the children that had been so cruelly
taken from them but few were ever found. The Mourning Mothers state that they
stand in support of the survivors of the regime’s brutal punishment and the
loved ones of those who are executed. Their statement ended with a call to stop
executions and bring the mullahs’ regime to justice for their crimes. It read:
“We call for the dismantling of all gallows across the country and demand that
those responsible for the executions are put on trial.”On Tuesday, Mrs. Maryam
Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the mass execution
of Sunni prisoners, carried out on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of
political prisoners in Iran, an appalling crime against humanity. The regime is
trying in vain to contain the volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by
terrorizing the public, she said. The time has come for the UN Human Rights
Council and the UN Security Council to end their silence and bring the record of
the Iranian regime's crimes before the International Criminal Court. Ali
Khamenei and other leaders of the regime as well as direct perpetrators of these
crimes must be brought to justice, Maryam Rajavi reiterated.
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on
on August 06-07/16
Iran could have an operational nuke by 2017 end
DEBKAfile Special Expose August 6, 2016
The nuclear accord signed a year ago with Iran has become a hot US presidential
campaign issue. On Thursday, Aug. 4, US President Barack Obama speaking at the
Pentagon said the agreement “has worked exactly the way we said it would,” and
even “Israeli defense officials are behind [it]… and now recognize the efficacy
of the accord” and that the Iranians “no longer have the short term breakout
capacity that would allow them to develop nuclear weapons.”
Hillary Clinton declared at the Democratic Party convention which gave her the
presidential nomination: “We put a lid on Iran’s nuclear program without firing
a single shot.”
Both these claims may be called hyperbolic at best and drew a response from Tel
Aviv:
“The Israeli defense establishment believes that agreements have value only if
they are based on reality. They have no value if the facts on the ground are
opposite to the ones the agreement is based on.”
Documents reaching DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources in recent weeks bare some
facts contained in unpublished sections of the nuclear accord – Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) - that Iran signed in Vienna with the US,
China, France, Russia, retain and Germany on July 14 2015.
This data is at odds with the official version that accord delayed Iran’s
short-term breakout capacity to a nuclear bomb by ten years plus one year. It is
now demonstrated that if Tehran decides to violate the accord Iran retains the
capability to achieve this goal in months - not years.
The strongest confirmation of this fact comes from the horse’s mouth: Ali Akbar
Salehi, President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, has said the
nuclear deal stipulates that if any party violates it, then Iran can go back to
enriching uranium at Natanz within 45 days at an even higher capacity than
before the agreement was signed - – his deputy cited twenty-fold.
Their words followed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s repeated
allegations that the US is in violation of the JCPA.
US administration officials’ insistence that Iran will need a whole year to
attain breakout capacity of its nuclear weapons program at the end of the
10-year moratorium is nullified by three cover Iranian steps:
1. Iran has concealed from International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors entire
clusters of second-generation IR-2m centrifuges – some by upgrading IR machines
at home and some imported from Pakistan and Germany. These hidden machines can
substantially cut short the process of enriching uranium at the Natanz and Fordo
plants up to weapons-grade.
2. Before signing the nuclear accord, Tehran stock-piled in Natanz alone 15,420
centrifuges – 9,156 of the first-generation IR-1 version and 1,000 high-speed
IR-2m enrichment machines. On the date of signing, the inspectors were shown
5,060 IR-1 centrifuges – all dismantled and stowed away in storage along with
the relevant feed equipment such as pipes, cooling systems and electronics.
That Iran is now in a position to reassemble its enrichment facilities within 45
days was admitted by Salehi himself.
3. The American calculation of the time Iran would need to build a nuclear bomb
was based on the quantity of low-grade enriched uranium (LEU) left with Iran for
further refinement to weapon-grade level. Washington was satisfied that Tehran
abided by the 300 kilograms limit set by the accord.
However, Iran has since been revealed as cheating on that provision too by
transferring a much larger LEU stock to Oman and continuing to clandestinely
turn out further quantities disguised as materials required for “research.”
All this information adds up to Iran’s current ability to flout the JCPA at any
time, having retained all its capabilities and means of production for breaking
out to developing a nuclear weapon within months, up to the end of 2017 – rather
than years. After marking strides in their missile program, the Iranians would
also soon be able to mount a nuke on an intercontinental ballistic missile,
which could wipe out a European or Middle East city.
The
forgotten Yazidi victims of an ISIS genocide
Brooklyn Middleton/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
On August 3, 2014, ISIS began launching a campaign of genocide against Yazidis
in northwestern Iraq, barbarically massacring at least 5,000 men and enslaving
at least just as many women and young girls. In the two years since ISIS began
its attempts to cleanse the Yazidi people from their homeland, hundreds of
thousands of Yazidis remain displaced, disappeared and enslaved. Their crisis
did not end when the United States conducted airstrikes on ISIS positions to
help tens of thousands of Yazidis flee from where they were trapped in the
Sinjar Mountains. Despite that less attention is now being given to their
plight, the militant group’s efforts to exterminate the Yazidis continue and the
international community must intensify efforts to hold ISIS accountable for
perpetrating the crime of genocide. The massacres of Yazidis were systematic in
the initial days of ISIS’ plan to cleanse Sinjar of their presence. Meanwhile,
their enslavement of girls and women – that is, those who ISIS determined were
young enough to not kill - was methodical. According to a comprehensive report
by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), one of the worst
massacres occurred on August 15 in the village of Kocho, where ISIS killed
approximately 400 men after separating them from their families and gathering
them inside of a school gym. According to that same report, before the hundreds
of men were driven to their death and massacred, at least some believed they
were in fact going to be freed.
‘Covered in blood’
The extent of the horror ISIS inflicted on that village alone is difficult to
grasp; in an interview conducted by the USHMM in the same report, one man from
the village said he was missing at least 52 family members while someone else
indicated they were missing 105. In another report by Amnesty International, a
survivor of a massacre targeting men from the village of Qiniyeh tells how
dozens of people were marched to a large hole in the earth outside of their
village, where their bodies then fell after being shot. One grave contained the
bodies of approximately 78 women between the ages of 40-80; it can be assessed
they were killed because they were too old to be sold as sex slaves. The girls
and women separated from their fathers and brothers were then enslaved, sold and
brutally sexually assaulted. During an interview with Human Rights Watch (HRW) a
12-year-old girl named Wafa from Kocho describes her own abduction, recalling
how one ISIS fighter told her that she was like his own child and he would
protect her; he then raped her multiple times. “One day I woke up and my legs
were covered in blood,” she said. When Kurdish forces seized Sinjar from the
militant group in November 2015, the evidence of ISIS’s crimes began to be
further unearthed as mass graves were repeatedly discovered. One such grave
contained the bodies of approximately 78 women between the ages of 40-80; it can
be assessed they were killed because they were too old to be sold as sex slaves.
The reports of atrocities inflicted on Yazidis – particularly the heinous sexual
abuse women and girls have endured at ISIS fighters' hands – are endless and
should be used to build a case against the militant group at the International
Criminal Court (ICC). A new UN report made precisely this recommendation in June
after documenting and assessing what it referred to as a genocide that very much
remains ongoing. The same report indicated at least 3,200 Yazidi women and
children still enslaved by ISIS; the majority of who are now in Syria. In
addition to urging actors to adopt plans to rescue enslaved Yazidis, the UN
report also recommended developing a fact-finding commission that would
comprehensively document the crimes against Yazidis and, “which would expose and
delegitimize ISIS crimes in the region through broadcast and dissemination of
the testimony.” Each recommendation outlined in the report should be heeded but
the impact such a commission could have would prove invaluable; plans for this
initiative must come to fruition. The UN - backed fully by the international
community - and all actors involved in Iraq and Syria, must work to establish a
comprehensive approach to ending the crimes against Yazidis, documenting the
abuse they’ve endured and holding the perpetrators of this genocide completely
responsible.
Putin is playing both Trump
and Obama
Hisham Melhem/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
In this strangest of all American elections, Republican candidate Donald J.
Trump is being played openly by cunning Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
has exploited his vanity by showering him with praise and compliments. Trump,
impressed by what he saw as Putin’s strength and thuggery, expressed his
admiration of the Russian autocrat and went probably beyond Putin’s wildest
expectations, hinting that, as president, he will recognize Russia’s annexation
of Crimea, and lift sanctions imposed after the annexation and raised doubt
about America’s seventy-year-old commitment to defend its NATO allies, and
considerably watered down the Republican Party’s platform on Ukraine. But what
is equally astonishing, is that one could say that Putin has been playing
President Obama and his insufferably gullible Secretary of State John Kerry for
years in Syria, and in the process extracting a horrific bloody price from the
Syrian people. Once again, the President of the United States found himself few
days ago, expressing his frustration with Russia because it is not cooperating
sincerely in maintaining the Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement in Syria
by not reining in the mass killing of Syrian civilians by its ally the Assad
regime.
But the eternally optimistic President Obama is still willing to test, once
again President Putin’s sincerity. In a press conference he held at the
Pentagon, after meeting with his senior military advisors Obama opined, “Russia
may not be able to get there, either because they don't want to, or because they
don't have sufficient influence over Assad. And, that's what we're going to
test.” He added; “we go into this without any blinders on. We're very clear that
Russia has been willing to support a murderous regime that has -- and an
individual, Assad, who has destroyed his country just to cling on to power.” But
neither Russia nor the Assad regime were constrained by the CoH since its
inception in February 2016. Russia’s fixed wing bombers and Assad’s killer
helicopters have been spewing fire, rockets and barrel bombs deliberately on
hospitals, schools and bakeries in besieged areas, particularly against the
people and defenders of Aleppo.
Greying hair and a dying city
President Obama said that he has been wrestling with Syria’s civil war for
years. “I am pretty confident that a big chunk of my grey hair comes out of my
Syria meetings and there is not a meeting that I do not end by saying is there
something else that we could be doing that we haven't thought of?” One would
hope that President Obama would admit someday, maybe in a moment of bliss, deep
in retirement that his grey hair may have been caused in part by his dithering,
dissembling, deliberate obfuscation, lack of resolve and moral courage
throughout the difficult years of his dealing with the Syrian tragedy. From the
beginning of the peaceful Syrian uprising in 2011, Obama’s insular White House
displayed the naiveté and ignorance of his close circle of advisors about things
Arab. One of his wordsmiths spoke with confidence that Syrian President Assad
will be swept away by the demonstrators the way presidents Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt were overthrown. Hence the refrain;
“Assad’s days are numbered”. That assessment betrayed lack of knowledge of
Syrian history, society and the nature of the Assad regime. When the Assad
regime deliberately turned the uprising violent, Obama said in August 2011 that
“the time has come for President Assad to step aside”. The fact that there was
no “or else” attached to the demand made by Obama, was the beginning of a
disturbing pattern of behavior by a president who gives words too much credit in
the conduct of international affairs, and who is too cautious to the point of
immobility.
More than five years after Syria’s famed cities fell to the systematic
industrial scale destruction wrought by the Assad regime, Russia and Iran, the
world is haplessly watching the agonizing death of the ancient besieged city of
Aleppo, site of exquisite monuments that testify to its rich and varied history
and the tenacity of its people. The current battle of Aleppo, could determine
the outcome of the Syrian war. Obama’s hair maybe greying, but Aleppo is dying.
And all the while President Putin has been playing President Obama on the
theatre of death in Aleppo dangling in front of his eyes the prospect of a
Faustian deal in the form of a convenient and transient military alliance
against the extremist Islamist Fath al-Sha’am , formerly known as al-Nusra
Front, which unconvincingly said recently that it is no longer affiliated with
al-Qaeda. These are the very Islamists that Assad helped create, with indirect
help from Obama’s dithering and failure to deliver on his threats against the
Assad regime and promises of sustained help to the opposition. It shall be
written, that when death came to Aleppo, few were genuinely moved, unlike a
generation ago, when many American and others who were horrified by the
slaughter of civilians in Bosnia, shouted “never again” and forced a reluctant
American President to do the right thing to stop the carnage. Aleppo is dying
but where is the outrage? Where is the outrage in the majority Arab and Muslim
states? In Europe, which is being directly impacted by the Syrian tragedy? Where
is the outrage in America? Have we become too numbed because of the unbearable
stench of death and dying in the Middle East?
The Prize
In 2012 the U.S. began secrete negotiations with Iran, in Oman, which eventually
led to the nuclear agreement of 2015. In 2013, when the Assad regime was on the
ropes militarily, Iran and its Shiite Lebanese proxy Hezbollah intervened
militarily and prevented the collapse of the Assad dynasty. President Obama, who
was by inclination and temperament opposed to playing an aggressive role in
Syria to stop the depredations of Assad and his allies, convinced himself that a
strong American role in Syria in support of the opposition could anger Iran and
lead to the collapse of the negotiations. From his first inauguration speech in
2009, Obama’s eyes were fixed on the main prize in the Middle East: a
breakthrough nuclear agreement with Iran that could lead to a historic opening
to a country that has long fascinated Obama. Theoretically, pursuing relations
with a pivotal country like Iran is worthy, and seeking a nuclear agreement that
would convincingly close Iran’s pathways to a nuclear arsenal is commendable,
but why not try to achieve these goals more forcefully and in a way that would
deter Iran from dominating Lebanon, prolonging Syria’s agony and dictating
political outcomes in Iraq and Yemen?
Trump is being played openly by cunning Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
has exploited his vanity by showering him with praise and compliments. But what
is equally astonishing, is that one could say that Putin has also been playing
President Obama
The Obama administration was extremely deferential to Iran in Syria and Iraq.
And preserving the nuclear deal has been the single most excuse used to explain
America’s passivity in the face of Iran’s rampages in those two countries. But
in Syria, we should stress, that President Obama was never serious in fully and
honorably delivering on his threats and his promises. Obama was never serious
about implementing his demand that Assad steps down in 2011. Obama was never
serious about his “red line” threat of the use of military force against the
Assad regime issued in 2012. Obama, was pressured by his advisors to reluctantly
adopt the “train and equip” program to help the Syrian opposition, therefor he
was not serious about its implementation.
A Faustian deal?
It has been almost a year since Russia established new air bases in Syria and
commenced its extensive bombing runs mostly against Assad’s nationalist
opposition and the Islamist groups that are not designated by the U.S. as
terrorist groups such ISIS and al-Nusra, although the intervention was explained
as a campaign against the Islamist terrorists. The Obama administration was
caught flat footed by the arrival of Russia’s expeditionary force. But the
administration did not denounce it very strongly, and did very little to extract
a price from Russia. Then came Secretary Kerry’s lame and strange analysis of
Russia’s supposedly draining and costly involvement in Syria, which has proven
to be totally misplaced. But the U.S. has traveled a long journey from those
early naïve views of Russia’s military role, to today’s serious discussion of
establishing a “Joint Implementation Group” to be based in Jordan to coordinate
Russian-American military operations against the al-Nusra Front. Russia’s
enhanced military profile and operations in Syria, has also enhanced its
political and diplomatic profile. Secretary Kerry, who act at times as if
negotiations could solve any conflict, has been trying to convince the Russian
for months now that if they don’t collaborate in good faith, that there will be
unspecified consequences or alternative approaches. In early May Kerry issued an
August 1 warning to Assad and Russia that if they don’t deliver on their
commitments to the Cessation of Hostilities, there will be “repercussions”.
Kerry’s ultimatum implied that there will be a change of course that may include
providing the non-Islamist opposition more lethal arms to force Assad to
negotiate a transitional period. But when August 1 came, and nothing happened,
Kerry found it convenient to blame the Assad regime and al-Nusra Front, but as
President Obama said, we still have to do some testing with the Russians, before
we reach a final assessment. Military cooperation with Russia is predicated, as
secretary Kerry said many times, on Russia pressuring Assad to stop his aerial
terror against civilians, although both Russia and Assad kept hammering Aleppo
indiscriminately. But a military alliance with Russia against al-Nusra, will
send the wrong messages to all parties concerned. Russia, is very eager to
eliminate the allied sanctions imposed on it following the annexation of Crimea,
and to restore military to military contacts would welcome such cooperation. But
an alliance with Russia will backfire against the U.S. in the Middle East. Even
without such collaboration, the region is rife with conspiracy theories about
American-Russian conniving to keep the nations there weak and divided. Deterring
al-Nusra, requires arming and training the nationalist groups.
Finally, Russia is exploiting the shift from America’s early focus on Syria’s
civil war and the murderous terror of the Assad regime, to a war against ISIS
and al-Nusra, where the opposition to Assad is an afterthought. President Obama
wants to achieve some tactical victories against ISIS and al-Nusra in the
twilight of his presidency, while grudgingly acknowledging that he will bequeath
to his successor a problem from hell that he had made by his actions and
inactions exponentially much worse.
Is ISIS winning the mind
game?
Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
When US citizen Darlene Horton was stabbed to death on Wednesday, in a frenzied
knife attack in London, by a Somali-Norwegian teenager, the world reacted by
assuming it was the latest in a spate of terror attacks. But most did not appear
to hear the information that filtered through the same day, revealing that
mental health ‘might be a factor’ in the stabbing rampage that also left five
people injured. After the incident speculation grew that this was likely to have
been a terror-related attack, with the media describing the UK capital as being
on a ‘terror alert’. A killing in London had become terror related without a
single utterance from ISIS or any of the other usual suspects. The revelation
that the prime suspect was of Somalian origin would not have helped to quell the
rumors that the British capital was under siege. But on Thursday London’s
Metropolitan Police confirmed that the attack ‘was not terror related’ – that
Darlene Horton was the victim of a random knife attack carried out by a teenager
suffering from mental health problems. In this case ISIS did not even utter any
claim of influence, before people were blaming terrorism for the atrocities of
Wednesday. The world was reacting to a killing – fearful that some militant
group had now crossed to the British shores. In all likeliness Darlene’s killing
would have gone unnoticed by the majority of the world - her death being yet
another statistic on London’s streets - had it not been for the recent attacks
claimed by ISIS in France, Belgium and Germany
The sad truth is that like all too many big cities, London suffers from quite
high levels of crime. And as reported in Al Arabiya English on Thursday: Knives
are the most common murder weapon in Britain, so this latest stabbing was not
that unusual. According to UK statistics there were 186 knife killings in the 12
months up to March 2015 – a third of all murders across Britain. In contrast
there have been two knife attacks in the last three years by people inspired by
radical Islam. In May 2013, two al-Qaeda-inspired London men killed off-duty
soldier Lee Rigby in the street near his barracks. In January, mentally ill
Muhiddin Mire tried to behead a London Underground passenger, shouting that he
was doing it “for Syria.”
In their interests
I’m pleased that the Met Police were prompt in dismissing any claim of a link to
terror attacks. Recently ISIS has laid claim to a series of killings, suggesting
that it in some way influenced the attacks. ISIS might be losing its fight on
the ground in Syria and Iraq, but arguably it is winning the mind game - if we
assume that they are responsible for attacks in streets around the world without
them even speaking. ISIS might be losing its fight on the ground in Syria and
Iraq, but arguably it is winning the mind game - if we assume that they are
responsible for attacks in streets around the world without them even speaking
The immediate assumption that all attacks are related to Islamist militants also
fuels Islamaphobia. It provides an excuse to accuse the innocent majority. In
turn it divides society when we need to stick together. In a time when there are
so many telling us to hate, society needs to bond more tightly to show that
irrespective of race, religion or cultural heritage, we are one. It is right
that we should be saddened and outraged at Darlene’s killing, it is also right
that we should be concerned that she was killed and several others were injured
in what appears to have been a random attack. But the likes of ISIS prey on
fear, they lay claim to attacks that probably have nothing to do with them, with
the intention of putting fear amongst the international community, that their
influence and reach is far greater than it might actually be. In my view society
needs to take a more considered approach when drawing conclusions as to the
motives behind these killings. The police need to continue to be assertive in
their insistence of ‘keeping an open mind’ while appealing for witnesses. We
should mourn the loss of the likes of Darlene Horton, and others who have lost
their lives in such horrific ways. But we should be cautious not to fuel the
scaremongering that could so easily debilitate civil society around the world.
And while Wednesday’s attack might not have been at the hands of ISIS, it might
be prudent for the world to reconsider how it handles people with serious mental
health issues.
Struggle for existence keeps
Pokemon at bay in rural India
Ehtesham Shahid/Al Arabiya/August 06/16
A train journey ferrying you out of a metropolis in India almost invariably
brings a sense of deja vu. High rises give way to humbler dwellings, cleaner
roads are replaced by zig-zag pathways dotted with potholes and instead of
pleasantly dressed folks, you find more haggard-looking men and women worn out
by the rigors of daily existence. And yes, the farther you go the lesser the
electricity supply while tap water gets drier by the mile. The situation may
slightly differ depending on which direction you take out of the capital city,
but the vagaries of life remain the same. If mega cities are all about chasing
dreams and making a mark amid cut-throat competition, the countryside means
being rooted, becoming one with the community and finding resonance with the
larger scheme of things. The display of religiosity is also more pronounced in
the countryside and so are caste, communal and class fault lines. Yet, despite
the disconnect over the availability of resources and opportunities, the two
Indias have mostly coexisted over the years. If people have migrated in their
millions from villages to eke out a living in bustling mega cities, a reverse
migration seems to be taking shape, albeit at a much lower scale. One can't help
but get a feeling that this had to happen someday. A chance encounter with an
agriculture scientist and an organic farming entrepreneur reveals that some
people are homeward bound to reap the benefits of new techniques and
research-based selection of crops. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that more
and more people are considering returning to villages to benefit from the
opportunities presented by the large swathe of fertile agricultural lands. This
may not be enough to offset the glum surrounding the small-scale industrial and
services sectors in the country but, at least, shows the way to a more sustained
model of all-round development. If such a process indeed fructifies, it will
ensure that the millions of human resources - in rural and urban areas - are
better utilized and natural resources better managed. Refreshingly though,
either of these Indias seems to have stayed away from the Pokemon Go phenomenon
that has gained notoriety almost everywhere in the world. There are occasional
reports of 20-somethings chasing Pikachus all the way to old forts using VPN-enabled
access, but it still isn't the rage that one would expect in a populous and
largely techno-savvy country.
Making ends meet. The reason is not very difficult to fathom. The deeper you
probe into India's vast landscapes, the more aware you become of the challenges
faced by its rural population. With scarce civic amenities and lack of
institutional support for the needy and the disadvantaged, making ends meet
occupies the imagination of a large section of rural India's population. With
scarce civic amenities and lack of institutional support for the needy and the
disadvantaged, making ends meet occupies the imagination of a large section of
rural India's population. In one of the most densely populated states, women are
celebrating a liquor ban that has been put in place by the local government. The
ban has silenced misbehaving husbands and even incarcerated the more abusive
ones. The whispering of anguish at co-villagers' inebriated rant has swiftly
turned into mirth over the intoxicated hiding away.
The monsoon season brings its own cost-benefit equations. While extensive
rainfall is critical for the survival of the most important crop of the season
i.e. paddy, it also has the potential to disrupt normal life in a major way,
even if it slightly exceeds the normal downpour. Since most small farmers have
their annual savings hinging on a good monsoon, excessive rainfall, or total
lack of it, can turn a bumper crop into a complete whimper. As India's rural
north watches the clouds with bated breath, few of their young continue to
display intent when it comes to playing Pokemon Go. However, they are deterred
as much by daunting circumstances as lack of access to the much-needed bandwidth
that make their hunt for Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander difficult.
Nigeria's Muslim Government Targeting Christians; A Pass to Boko Haram
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute/August 06/16
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8620/muslim-targeting-christians
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military dictator, rather than
concentrating his efforts on Boko Haram, has instead mounted a campaign of
intimidation against his Christian opponents in the south of the country.
50,000 children are facing death by starvation, according to Western aid
officials. In May, the Nigerian military killed at least 15 people at a peaceful
Biafran protest.
"Mr Buhari is diverting vital resources away from the campaign to pursue his own
political agenda," explained a senior Western official. "The Nigerian
government, which is receiving significant amounts of foreign aid, needs to
understand that its main priority is to deal with Boko Haram, and also to make
sure that Nigeria does not suffer the worst humanitarian disaster in its
history."
The failure of Nigeria's Muslim President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the
Islamist fanatics of Boko Haram has resulted in an estimated 50,000 children
facing death by starvation, according to Western aid officials.
A total of 500,000 people have been made homeless during Nigeria's bitter
seven-year conflict with Boko Haram, and aid workers now fear the vast majority
of them are in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care.
But hopes that Mr Buhari would intensify the military effort to destroy Boko
Haram, an Islamist group with close links to the Islamic State in Iraq and the
Syria (ISIS), are fading, following the Nigerian leader's decision to promote
his Muslim allies to key government appointments at the expense of his Christian
political opponents.
Last month Stratfor, which provides business with geopolitical analysis,
reported there was growing frustration in northern Nigeria over the blatant
favouritism the president is displaying towards his Muslim allies.
According to Stratfor, 77 of the 122 appointments Mr Buhari has made since his
accession to power in May last year have gone to northerners, increasing ethnic
tensions with the predominantly Christian south of the country.
Western officials say Mr Buhari's obsession with settling scores with his
political opponents has had a negative impact on Nigeria's military campaign
against Boko Haram, and left the government unable to cope with the mounting
humanitarian disaster in the north of the country.
The French charity Doctors Without Borders is now warning that a total of
244,000 children have been left homeless and hungry as a result of the fighting,
and that one in five of them will die in the coming weeks unless urgent aid is
provided. A spokesman for the children's charity, Unicef, commented: "Some 134
children on average will die every day from causes linked to acute
malnutrition."
Aid officials believe that much of the blame for this disastrous state of
affairs lies with the government of Mr Buhari, a former military dictator, who,
rather than concentrating his efforts on Boko Haram, has instead mounted a
campaign of intimidation against his Christian opponents in the south of the
country.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, rather than concentrating his efforts on
Boko Haram, has instead mounted a campaign of intimidation against his Christian
opponents in the south of the country. Pictured above, Buhari (left) meets with
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on November 23, 2015, in Iran.
(Image source: khamenei.ir)
A senior Nigerian security officer recently confided to Western diplomats that
so many of Mr Buhari's political opponents had been rounded up that Nigeria's
prison system could no longer cope.
And Mr Buhari's decision to target supporters of the country's former Christian
president, Goodluck Jonathan, in the south of the country, recently prompted
criticism from British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, who said, "It's
obviously a major concern."
Mr Buhari's tactics have also succeeded in reviving tensions with Nigeria's
Biafran community in the south of the country, who were involved in a brutal
civil war for independence in the 1960s.
In May, the Nigerian military killed at least 15 people at a peaceful Biafran
protest.
"One of the reasons we have this humanitarian crisis in northern Nigeria is that
Mr Buhari is diverting vital resources away from the campaign to pursue his own
political agenda," explained a senior Western official. "The Nigerian
government, which is receiving significant amounts of foreign aid, needs to
understand that its main priority is to deal with Boko Haram, and also to make
sure that Nigeria does not suffer the worst humanitarian disaster in its
history."
**Mr Coughlin is Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor of London's Daily Telegraph.