New Page 5

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006

Bible Quotation For Today/Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy
Book of Revelation 15/01-08: "Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, King of the nations! Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your judgements have been revealed.’ After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever; and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended."

Bible Quotation For Today/Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit
John 12/20-28: "Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus. ’Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour. ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say "Father, save me from this hour"? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 13-14/15
Canadian Elections: I am a believer, not a Gambler/Elias Bejjani/October 13/15
Worth Watching/Tarek Fatah in an interview through the CBC
Preacher’ Aoun bashes Salam government/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News
The Iranian Majlis Has Not Approved The JCPOA But Iran's Amended Version Of It/By: A. Savyon and Y. Carmon/MEMRI/October 13/15
Iran At The Crossroads: Between Russia And The U.S./By: A. Savyon and Y. Carmon/MEMRI/October 13/15
A mass murder mystery highlights Turkey’s political fragility/Dr. John C. Hulsman/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
Understanding the depth of Syrian refugee selfies/Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
Memories of the 1988 Algerian Spring/Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
The "Islamic Inquisition" and the Blasphemy Police/Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/October 13/15
Making Sense of the Ankara Bombing/Daniel Pipes/Daniel Pipes Blog /October 13/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on October 13-14/15
Canadian Elections: I am a believer, not a Gambler
Worth Watching/Tarek Fatah in an interview through the CBC
Preacher’ Aoun bashes Salam government
FPM to boycott Cabinet till Army chief replaced: Aoun
Nusra Front issues bounties for Assad, Nasrallah
Army, Hizbullah Raise Level of Alert over Syria War Developments
Civil Society Activists Protest by Military Court after Colleagues Denied Release from Custody
Berri Has High Hopes on Dialogue, Says Cabinet 'Burnt Down'
Reports: Bassil Planning to Visit Iran Soon
Change and Reform Condemns 'Usurpation of Voice of Aoun's Supporters'
Grand Mufti Marks Hijri Year, Urges Rival Politicians to Elect a President
Roukoz Leaves Headquarters One Day Early
Officials Rule Out Wave of Syria Refugees over Russia Air Campaign
French Official Visits Beirut over Saudi Arms Grant
Army Arrests Senior al-Nusra Front Fugitive in Arsal
Iranian General Farshad Hasounizad killed in Syria

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 13-14/15
Three Dead as Jerusalem Sees Bloodiest Day in Rising Unrest
Footage shows badly wounded Palestinian boy verbally abused
US condemns attacks on Israelis as 'terror' and 'murder'
Netanyahu: Israel will settle scores with those killing civilians
Israel Targets Syria Army Posts after Rockets Hit Golan
Saudi FM: Saudi position on Syria ‘unchanged’
Saudi Executed for Killing Policeman
Clemency Plea for Briton, 74, Facing Saudi Flogging
France Signs Deals Worth $10 Bn with Saudi
Two rockets hit Russian embassy in Syria, no casualties reported
Lavrov: Damascus Shelling of Russia Embassy an 'Act of Terror'
Russia: Air force hits 86 ISIS targets in Syria
Syria's Al-Nusra Calls on Jihadists in Caucasus to Attack Russia
EU and Iran Discuss Ways to End War in Syria

Canadian Elections: I am a believer, not a Gambler
Elias Bejjani/October 13/15
In life as I understand it, you have to decide where you stand, with who and for what reasons or objectives. Personally I do not bet because I am not a gambler, but a faithful person who lives strictly in accordance to a set of solid convictions and beliefs in each and every life domain including politics. Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party match these convictions and beliefs and that is why I support them all the way while at the same time loudly and openly advocate for the patriotic and ethical needs to vote for them. In summary losing or winning are not determining factors that motivate or dictate on me to change who I am, what I stand for, and most importantly who I am. Meanwhile, I will not have a problem with the elections' outcome, no matter what, because Canada is a free and democratic country, and who ever wins in the parliamentary elections will be the Canadians' majority free choice.

Preacher’ Aoun bashes Salam government
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf News
Washington, DC: Free Patriotic Movement leader, General Michel Aoun, rallied the party faithful on Sunday in his putative “million-men-march” and pledged to continue the FPM’s calling to combat corruption in Lebanon. He blamed the political class for the country’s woes, unwilling to concede that the FPM was part of the problem, as he pretended to represent the majority. “Those manipulating the parliamentary elections and hindering other national obligations will pay the price of their actions,” he declared at a rally near the presidential palace in Baabda, oblivious to the fact that the Lebanese constitution called for the election of the head-od-state by parliament. Aoun’s populism, which drew less than 20,000 individuals, was unfortunate as it commemorated the events of October 13, 1990, which saw him abandon the Baabda Palace and, more important, his troops who were wiped out under Syrian bombardment. In a moment of hubris, the General turned the tables and affirmed that what ailed Lebanon was its governing elites, “the same officials who were ruling” then.
It did not occur to him nor his supporters that he was in power in 1990 and though he anticipated “a new phase of the struggle,” what was challenging was his insistence that the change that he predicted—which would presumably put power in the hands of people through popular elections—required either a revolution or a new national covenant. Of course, this was not the first time that the FPM leader anticipated such a change, though he seldom asked himself how such change could possibly occur without a broad consensus that was, for all practical purposes, absent from the political and religious scenes in 2015.
Still, cheering crowd who believed in his “promised miracle” were actually giddy that their “voices would restore Lebanon’s glory,” which allegedly “came from God and [that] no one could possibly stop.”In a particularly vexing passage in his speech, Aoun compared himself to Jesus Christ, when he declared that many wished to “crucify him” in 1990 that would have been accurate had he not fled the presidential palace. At times, Aoun sounded like a preacher instead of a politician, though, once again, his demand for the adoption of an electoral law based on proportionality, catered to the masses.
In fact, by working the street and tantalising backers with nearly impossible goals, Aoun ensured that the presidential vacuum would continue sine die. “We do not want a consensual president who will divide Lebanon to appease greedy officials,” chanted the General, adding: “We also do not want the election of a neutral head of state,” presumably because in FPM parlance such a president would be nothing more than a puppet. Naturally, his logic implied that he would not be such a pawn, where he to accede to the post he craved.
Lebanon has been without a president since May 24, 2014 when Michel Suleiman ended his term without the election of a successor. Lack of consensus and, equally important, sharp political differences between rival March 8 and 14 alliances essentially meant that no president could now be elected. Even if Aoun lambasted the cabinet under Prime Minister Tammam Salam, who ostensibly “should have resigned long ago” according to the FPM leader, he played coy with the truth since he was part of the government and championed paralysis over any number of concerns. Lebanon faced a series of problems, led by constant power outages—which was the privy of the FPM, and the ongoing garbage disposal crisis. He complained about lack of power and a crumbling infrastructure, but took no responsibility as any self-respecting politicians would have done. What was even more bizarre was the desire to commemorate the October 13, 1990 catastrophe, which highlighted one of his darkest military and political chapters. As a direct consequence of the 1975-1990 Civil War, Aoun, who served as Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces and was appointed Prime Minister by outgoing President Amine Gemayel in 1988 in what turned out to be a rival government, declared “Liberation War” against Syria. Between March 14, 1989 and October 13, 1990, occupying Syrian forces pummeled a variety of targets, killing hundreds of unarmed soldiers and civilians.
Although impossible to know since so many Lebanese soldiers were still missing, an estimated 700 civilians were killed in October 1990, while at least 400 to 500 Lebanese soldiers perished, including at least 200 loyal Aoun troops who simply disappeared. Aoun, who allied himself in 1989-1990 with the Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussain, fell victim to the Baghdad-Damascus rivalries as well, something that no one around him mentions today. What are no longer disputable was his escape from the Presidential Palace to the French Embassy where he sought and received refuge before being allowed to travel to France where he remained in exile until May 7, 2005, eleven days after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. The Cedar Revolution, a direct result of the February 14, 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, was not Aoun’s doing, though he pretended it was. Ironically, Aoun visited Syria in December 2008 when he declared that he believed President Bashar Al Assad who apparently gave him his word that there were no longer any Lebanese in Syrian Jails.

FPM to boycott Cabinet till Army chief replaced: Aoun
October 13, 2015/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun said Tuesday his party would not return to Cabinet until a new Army commander is appointed. In a televised interview with OTV, Aoun, who handed down the party's leadership to his son-in-law last month, insisted that his stance was firm. "We are not returning to the government until there is a new Army commander and a new Military Council," Aoun declared, saying the current Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwagi was no longer legitimate since his term was extended earlier this year. "I don't know which menace was behind (Defense Minister) Samir Moqbel's decision to extend Kahwagi's term," Aoun said, in a likely reference to former President Michel Sleiman, who is close to Moqbel. Aoun has been lobbying for another one of his son-in-laws, Army Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Shamel Roukoz, to head the Army. "Roukoz ended the battle in Abra in 2013, he ended the battle in Arsal last year, he brought back stability to Akkar," Aoun said, in reference to the different Lebanese regions which witnessed clashes between the Lebanese army and Islamist militant groups in recent years. Aoun also reiterated that he viewed Parliament as illegitamate since it had twice voted to extend its own term, effectively cancelling the 2013 elections. "We will not allow our rivals to step on our rights and violate the Constitution anymore... The rift between us is wide as it is, we can't allow the crisis to grow even more," Aoun continued. Regarding the trash crisis, Aoun said that Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb, who has replaced Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk in dealing with the situation, has all the prerogatives to finalize the issue on his own without any Cabinet meetings. "We will not stand in the way nor will we participate in any Cabinet sessions to discuss the trash issue, even though the government does not need to meet to end this crisis, the minister has the powers to do it himself," Aoun said. Touching on the issue of Lebanese who went missing during the Lebanese civil war and the situation in Syria, Aoun said that he discussed the issue of missing Lebanese during his visit to Syria in 2008. Thousands of Lebanese went missing during the 1975-1990 civil war, many of whom were kidnapped or killed and dumped in random places. Aoun said that is was now in Lebanon’s benefit to have good ties with Syria as it is the only gateway for Lebanon to the Arab world, saying that “we will cooperate with Syria’s new regime when the current regime changes.”

Nusra Front issues bounties for Assad, Nasrallah
By AFP, Reuters | Amman and Cairo/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/The head of Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate has issued bounties worth millions of dollars for the killing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the head of powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah. In a voice recording released late Monday, head of Al-Nusra Front Abu Mohamed al-Golani said he would pay “three million euros ($3.4 million) for anyone who can kill Bashar al-Assad and end his story”. “How long must Muslims delay their rights and shed their blood for a man who loves his power?” he asked. The militant chief said he would pay out the sum even if a member of Assad’s own family killed the head of state, and said Al-Nusra would protect the killer and his family. Golani also offered “an amount of two million euros ($2.2 million) for whoever kills (Hezbollah head) Hassan Nasrallah, even if it is a member of his own family or sect.”Hezbollah has intervened militarily in Syria’s brutal conflict on behalf of Assad, dispatching thousands of fighters to various fronts across the country.
Calls to targeting Alawite sect
In the same audio message, al-Golani urged insurgents to escalate attacks on the strongholds of President Bashar al Assad’s minority Alawite sect, in retaliation for what he said was the indiscriminate killing of Muslim Sunnis by invading Russians. He said Russia’s military intervention since last week was aimed at saving Assad’s rule from collapse but was doomed to fail, as had previous Iranian and Hezbollah military support. “There is no choice but to escalate the battle and to target Alawite towns and villages in Latakia and I call on all factions to ... daily hit their villages with hundreds of missiles as they do to Sunni cities and villages,” Golani said.Golani describing the Russian intervention as a new Christian crusade from the east that was doomed to fail and came after a “string of victories made by the Mujahdeen” threatened Assad’s rule. “The war in Cham (Syria) will make the Russians forget the horrors of what they faced in Afghanistan. The new Russian invasion is the last dart in the weaponry of the enemies of Muslims and the enemies of Syria,” he said. Russia has dramatically intensified its bombing campaign in recent days. Moscow says it is targeting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group, but most of its strikes have hit other rebel factions fighting against Assad, some of which have the support of Arab powers, Turkey or the United States.
Rebels also say Russia’s “scorched earth” policy was killing dozens of civilians.

Army, Hizbullah Raise Level of Alert over Syria War Developments
Associated Press/Naharnet/October 13/15/The Lebanese army has gone on alert along the border with Syria and inside Lebanese territories after Russian jets intensified their airstrikes in central Syria and Hizbullah got more involved in the country's war. A security source told As Safir daily published on Tuesday that terrorist groups taking refuge in the border area are making suspicious moves. The army raised its level of alertness over fears that the jihadists would carry out attacks inside Lebanese territories, he said. Hizbullah has also consolidated its security measures in its strongholds, mainly in Beirut's southern suburbs, as it got more involved in Syria's war, said the source. The party has moved in the past days thousands of highly-trained fighters from Lebanon towards areas near the northwestern province of Idlib to help the Syrian army regain control of the province. After a heavy barrage of Russian airstrikes on Monday, the fighting was focused on the village of Kfar Nabudeh, which officials said had been seized by government troops. Activists said Syrian rebels repelled the attack. Capturing Kfar Nabudeh would cut off a major highway, giving the pro-government forces access to Idlib. A rebel coalition that includes the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front drove President Bashar Assad's forces out of Idlib in September, in a major setback for the government. Their hold on Idlib threatened Latakia province, a stronghold of Assad and the Alawite religious minority to which he belongs. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 30 airstrikes were carried out in Kfar Nabudeh, while government troops and Hizbullah fighters entered the village from the south.

Civil Society Activists Protest by Military Court after Colleagues Denied Release from Custody
Naharnet/October 13/15/Civil society activists staged on Tuesday a sit-in by the Military Court in Beirut following the rejection of a request to release their detained colleagues. The protesters objected to a decision by First Military Examining Magistrate Judge Riad Abou Ghida to reject a request to release five civil society detainees.The demonstrators gathered by the Military Court and briefly blocked the road by the facility to express their condemnation of the refusal. The detainees are Waref Suleiman, Pierre Hashash, Hussein Ibrahim, Fayez Yassine and Rami Mahfouz.On Monday, Abou Ghida interrogated a number of detained activists, releasing five and keeping five others in custody. Around 27 activists were arrested last week when civil society protests in downtown Beirut took a violent turn. Civil society protests first began with the closure of the Naameh landfill in July that sparked a waste disposal crisis in Lebanon that persists to this day. The demonstrations, which had been staged to protest the crisis, soon developed into a movement against political corruption in Lebanon.
Lebanon

Berri Has High Hopes on Dialogue, Says Cabinet 'Burnt Down'
Naharnet/October 13/15/Speaker Nabih Berri has described the situation of the government as “burned down” but was optimistic that the national dialogue would stop the country from falling into chaos. In a chat with reporters on his way to Bucharest, Berri said: “The situation of the government is not enviable. It is burned down.” Despite such a description for the cabinet paralysis, the speaker said he was not concerned that Prime Minister Tammam Salam would resign. He said the all-party talks that he is chairing and the dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement, which are being held under his sponsorship, are the “glimpse of hope.” The national dialogue and the talks between the rival parties “should continue given the positive outcome they have,” Berri, who heads Amal Movement, said. “They both guarantee an atmosphere of stability,” he told reporters. The cabinet has been unable to convene due to huge differences between its members on the promotion of high-ranking military officers and the decision-making mechanism that it should adopt in the absence of a president. The vacuum at Baabda Palace has paralyzed the parliament and had bad consequences on the performance of the government. Asked by reporters about the country's waste crisis, Berri expressed disappointment. He said: “The garbage issue became a waste.”“If the situation remains the same, then the trash crisis will be similar to the electricity crisis,” he said, adding “there would be incinerators in towns similar to generators in neighborhoods.”The waste crisis erupted when the Naameh landfill, Lebanon's largest, closed in mid-July. It sparked demonstrations because rubbish piled up in the streets of the capital and Mount Lebanon. The protests have grown into a wider protest movement against an entire political class seen as corrupt and dysfunctional. As for power, it is rationed, including in Beirut where many businesses and apartment blocks use generators to tide them over during lengthy blackouts. The problem runs far back. An outdated electricity grid and lack of reform after the bloody civil war has left supply lagging way behind rising demand.

Reports: Bassil Planning to Visit Iran Soon
Naharnet/October 13/15/Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil is planning to visit Tehran later in the week as the new leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, several local newspapers reported on Tuesday. The dailies said the visit of Bassil, who took over the FPM leadership from his father-in-law MP Michel Aoun last month, would come ahead of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's trip to Paris to meet with his French counterpart Francois Hollande. According to the reports, Bassil's meetings with Iranian officials would tackle bilateral relations and the developments in the region. The talks between the Iranian and French leaders are also expected to tackle the presidential deadlock in Lebanon. But Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Fathali said on Monday that the presidential crisis is a local issue. “We hope to see a strong president in Lebanon,” he added.
Baabda Palace has been vacant since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May last year.

Change and Reform Condemns 'Usurpation of Voice of Aoun's Supporters'
Naharnet/October 13/15/Head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun will adopt an “escalatory” approach should the current “political practices persist,” announced former Minister Salim Jreissati. He said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We reject the usurpation of the voice of the people who support Aoun.”Free Patriotic Movement supporters staged a rally on Sunday to back Aoun and to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the events of October 13, 1990. Jreissati reiterated the proposal of Aoun for the election of a president through the people, adding: “This initiative is now in the hands of the public.” “We should stop meddling with our constitution and with the rights of the people,” he demanded. “No state institution can be established without the voice of the people,” he stressed. In addition, Jreissati revealed that Change and Reform MPs will take part in next Tuesday's election of new members of parliamentary committees. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Grand Mufti Marks Hijri Year, Urges Rival Politicians to Elect a President
Naharnet/October 13/15/Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan urged the rival political leaders attending the national dialogue sessions not to leave their meetings before they elect a new president.“Do not leave your dialogue sessions unless you consensually agree on electing a new head of state,” Daryan said addressing the interlocutors of the national dialogue during a speech marking the New Islamic Year. “We are one people and we have only one country to live in, so let us stop the conflicts in order not to lose our youth to migration,” he added. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of President Michel Suleiman ended. The conflicts between the rival March 8 and March 14 alliance have failed so far to elect a successor. On the latest civil society activity in downtown Beirut that turned chaotic, Daryan said: “We support the righteous demands of the civil society that should be expressed peacefully and under the law, without violating the public and private properties or clashing with the security forces.” “Lebanon is suffering under political and social pressures, we fear that these crises would trigger instability,” he concluded. A trash management crisis that started in July, when the Naameh landfill was was closed, triggered a wide series of civil society demonstrations protesting the government’s delay in addressing the matter. The latest protest last week in downtown Beirut turned chaotic when protesters removed the barbed wires and cement barriers that were placed by the security forces. The campaigners clashed with the police who used water canons to disperse them.

Roukoz Leaves Headquarters One Day Early
Naharnet/October 13/15/Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz is set to leave his headquarters in Roumieh on Tuesday for his successor Maroun al-Qobayati a day early as his term ends on October 15, following an official holiday. The official handover ceremony between Roukoz and Qobayati will not be held this year, and Roukoz is scheduled to visit the ministry of defense where he will hold a meeting with Army Commander Jean Qahwaji and several other officers. The army commander has signed a decree last week naming al-Qobayati as chief of the Commando Regiment to succeed Roukoz. Roukoz is the son-in-law of MP Michel Aoun who was adamant to receive political consensus on his promotion to keep him in the military and make him eligible to become army chief. Aoun's insistence to have his son-in-law appointed as army commander has stalled the government and left it paralyzed as his ministers have boycotted the cabinet sessions. Supporters of Roukoz have called for a gathering in downtown Beirut's Martyr Square on Thursday in support of Roukoz, urging protesters to only hoist the Lebanese flag.

Officials Rule Out Wave of Syria Refugees over Russia Air Campaign
Naharnet/October 13/15/Lebanese officials have ruled out a rise in the number of Syrian refugees after Moscow entered Syria's multi-faceted civil war last month. The officials, who were not identified, told As Safir daily published on Tuesday that it was highly unlikely for more Syrians to seek safety in Lebanon over the air strikes carried out by Russia to help the Syrian regime. The hotspots in Syria are currently far from the Lebanese border, they said. Consequently, a possible wave of Syrian refugees would be directed towards Turkey, the officials added. Lebanon already hosts around 1.5 million displaced Syrians -- a huge burden for a country of four million people. Syrian regime forces have recently gained ground in the central province of Hama backed by Russian air power. Syria's army command has also reported advances in northern Latakia province, the coastal stronghold of the regime, and said regime forces had taken control of a zone outside Aleppo in the north.

French Official Visits Beirut over Saudi Arms Grant
Naharnet/October 13/15/A French official was in Beirut last week to follow up with the Lebanese army leadership the delivery of French weapons under a Saudi grant, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday. The daily said the official's visit came amid a freeze in the delivery of more arms to Lebanon. In April, Lebanon received the first shipment of the $3 billion worth of French arms under the Saudi-financed deal to boost the country's defensive capabilities to combat terror threats, along its northeastern border in particular. According to al-Akhbar, French and Lebanese officials are implementing the technical aspect of the grant but Saudi Arabia has stopped financing the delivery of the rest of the arms. But the daily said that French officials have appeased fears expressed by the army leadership, confirming that the agreement will continue to be implemented. France is expected to deliver 250 combat and transport vehicles, seven Cougar helicopters, three small Corvette warships and a range of surveillance and communications equipment over four years as part of the $3 billion modernization program. The contract also promises seven years of training for the 70,000-strong Lebanese army and 10 years of equipment maintenance. Since the conflict in neighboring Syria broke out in 2011, Lebanon has faced mounting spill-over threats, first from the millions of refugees pouring across the border and increasingly from jihadists.

Army Arrests Senior al-Nusra Front Fugitive in Arsal
Naharnet/October 13/15/A senior member of al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's Syria franchise, was arrested Monday in the northeastern border town of Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported. “The Lebanese army arrested senior al-Nusra Front member Ibrahim Mutaweh this afternoon in the town of Arsal,” NNA said. Mutaweh was wanted for “involvement in acts of terror and taking part in battles against the Lebanese army,” the agency added. Ever since the Syrian revolt erupted in March 2011, Arsal has served as a key conduit for refugees, militants and wounded people fleeing strife-torn Syria. Jihadists from al-Nusra and the Islamic State group are entrenched in the town's outskirts. In August 2014, they stormed the town and engaged in bloody battles with the Lebanese army following the arrest of a senior IS militant. The jihadists withdrew after a ceasefire, but took with them several dozen hostages from the army and police, four of whom have since been executed.

Iranian General Farshad Hasounizad killed in Syria
Now Lebanon/Agencies/October 13/15/BEIRUT – The former head of an elite unit in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as another top general have been killed in Syria, days after one of the country’s leading officers was killed in the war-torn country. “General Farshad Hasounizad, defender of the Sayyeda Zeinab Shrine and former commander of the Saberin Brigade, was killed in Syria,” a reporter in the state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) wrote in a post on his Instagram account Tuesday afternoon. The Saberin Brigade is a special forces unit of the IRGC formed in 1998 to serve as a quick reaction force to prevent armed infiltration into Iran. The unit has reportedly been deployed in Iraq to fight ISIS. Hassan Shemshadi also posted that Hamid Mokhtarband had been killed in Syria, explaining that the officer was the former chief-of-staff of the 1st Brigade in Ahvaz, in reference to the 1st Brigade of Iran’s crack 92nd Armored Division, which is considered the country’s top armored unit. The Iranian reporter's Instagram posts were picked up by Iranian media outlets, including Basij Press, which noted he was one of the first to break the news of IRGC general Hussein Hamdani’s death last week. Hamdani was one of the IRGC’s leading generals and the country’s top military advisor in Syria. IRGC’s public relations department said Hamdani had been killed by “members of the ISIS terror group” in Aleppo’s northern outskirts, while some statements in the Iranian media as well as pro-Syrian regime outlets said he had died in a car crash. Hamdani—who commanded the IRGC’s Rassoulollah Corps responsible for security in Tehran—played a key role in the Iranian government’s suppression of the Green Movement protests that rocked Iran between 2009 and 2010. In a 2014 article, The Wall Street Journal said that Hamdani was a “recognized authority and strategist in Iran for fighting separatist movements and guerrilla urban war.” The recent spate of Iranian officer deaths, as well as those of Hezbollah commanders, comes after the Syrian regime on October 7 launched a wide-scale military operation in the northern Hama province in a bid to push rebels back in the area as part of a wider strategy focused on securing the frontlines along the government’s coastal heartland. The offensive has been backed by heavy Russian airstrikes, while pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar reported Tuesday that IRGC troops would soon begin operations to support the regime.

Three Dead as Jerusalem Sees Bloodiest Day in Rising Unrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/Jerusalem suffered its bloodiest day yet Tuesday in a wave of unrest, with at least three Israelis killed as Palestinian attackers opened fire on a bus and drove a car into pedestrians. The bus attack marked the first assault with a gun in Jerusalem in the two-week-old upsurge of Palestinian violence. The rising tide of unrest, which has seen a series of stabbing attacks and violent protests, has raised fears that a full-scale third Palestinian uprising, or intifada, could erupt. In the first and second intifadas, in 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, hundreds were killed in near-daily violence between Israel and the Palestinians. The bus attack saw one Palestinian assailant with a pistol and another with two knives assault some 15 people traveling on an east Jerusalem bus, police said. Two Israelis were killed, including a 60-year-old, while around 10 others were wounded, medics and police said.
One of the attackers was shot dead while the other was wounded, police said. "I was in my house and I heard between 20 and 30 shots between the police and the terrorists," a man who lives in the area said, declining to give his name. Another resident said the incident went on for nearly 10 minutes. In another attack around the same time in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish area of Jerusalem, a Palestinian drove a car into a group at a bus stop and exited with a knife. At least one person was killed and eight wounded, medics said. The attacker was also wounded. It was not clear if the attacks were coordinated. All three attackers were from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, police said. The Jerusalem attacks came after a Palestinian stabbed and wounded a passerby north of Tel Aviv before being overcome by civilians in the area. Police described the attacker as a 22-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem and said he was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being beaten by residents.
After first breaking out with attacks and violent protests in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, unrest has also spread to the Gaza Strip, with clashes along the border in recent days leaving nine Palestinians dead from Israeli fire. "There is no magic formula," Israeli energy minister Yuval Steinitz, a longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told public radio on Tuesday. "During the two previous intifadas, it took days, weeks and even years to get there" and restore calm, he said. In response to the violence, Israel was planning an emergency meeting of its security cabinet for Tuesday afternoon and considered whether to seal off Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Palestinians were meanwhile calling for a "day of rage" on Tuesday and Arab Israelis called a general strike in support of them. Violent protests broke out in parts of both Gaza and the West Bank, including in Bethlehem and a checkpoint near Ramallah, where at least one Palestinian was wounded by Israeli fire. Funerals of Palestinians killed during unrest or while allegedly carrying out attacks -- as well as videos of the shootings -- have fed anger. Palestine Liberation Organization secretary general Saeb Erekat said Tuesday new petitions would be sent to the International Criminal Court against Israel, accusing it of "extrajudicial executions".
More than 20 stabbing attacks have occurred in Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank since October 3. There has been one revenge attack, with a Jew stabbing and wounding two Arab Israelis and two Palestinians in the southern Israeli city of Dimona last week. Seven Israelis have been killed along with around 25 Palestinians, including alleged attackers. Netanyahu vowed Monday that Israel would not bow to "knife terror" but Palestinian unrest has shown little sign of slowing. The knife attackers have usually been young Palestinians who appear to be acting on their own. Frustrated Palestinian youths have defied President Mahmud Abbas as well as an Israeli crackdown by staging violent protests in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. On Monday evening, dozens of Gaza residents broke through the border fence and briefly entered Israel before being pushed back by troops, Palestinian witnesses said. Medical officials said two men were injured by army fire.The violence began on October 1, when an alleged Hamas cell shot dead a Jewish settler couple in the West Bank in front of their children. It followed repeated clashes at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound in September between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths. Palestinians have thrown stones and firebombs at Israeli forces, who have responded with live fire, rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades.

Footage shows badly wounded Palestinian boy verbally abused
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/Graphic warning: This article contains images that some readers may find disturbing
A video puporting to show a Palestinian boy suffering from gunshot wounds surrounded by Jewish settlers and Israeli police while receiving a barrage of verbal abuse has gone viral overnight, after weeks of violence gripped the occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank. It has been reported that he was shot by Israeli gunfire, according to Al Arabiya News Channel. He is believed to be one of two Palestinian boys who were shot on Monday. According to Israeli media, one of the boys had allegedly stabbed and critically injured a 13-year-old Israeli riding his bike in northern Jerusalem. In the video, the visibly injured boy is seen laying on the ground, with voices - believed to be those of Israeli settlers at the scene - hurling insults at him and telling him to “die” in the presence of Israeli police. According to an Israeli police statement, one of the boys had been shot dead, while the other was wounded. It is unclear which of the boys appears in the video. The incident occured in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev, built on occupied land that Israel annexed after the 1967 Middle East war. Twenty-six Palestinians and four Israelis have died in 12 days of bloodshed so far in the worst spell of street violence for years.

US condemns attacks on Israelis as 'terror' and 'murder'
J.Post/October 13/15/WASHINGTON -- The United States once again condemned ongoing violence in Israel on Tuesday, after twin attacks by Palestinians took the lives of three Israelis and maimed at least 20 others.
Since October 1, seven Israelis have been killed and dozens more have been injured in 26 separate attacks across Israel and the Palestinian territories. According to Palestinian reports, 27 Palestinians– including nine alleged attackers– have also died."The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, which resulted in the murder of three Israelis and left numerous others wounded. We mourn any loss of innocent life, Israeli or Palestinian," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "We continue to stress the importance of condemning violence and combating incitement."

Netanyahu: Israel will settle scores with those killing civilians
J.Post/October 13/13/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a special Knesset session on Tuesday that Israel is engaged in a "long struggle against terrorism" and that "a series of aggressive steps" are in order against those inciting to violence."Israel will settle scores with those who are killing and those who are encouraging them," Netanyahu said. "Anyone who raises their hand against us will have their hand cut off."The premier added that the "current wave of terrorism is same that we saw 14 years ago" during the Second Intifada. Netanyahu continued, calling on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to "stop lying, and stop inciting."Speaking during a special Knesset session in memory of assassinated minister Rehavam Zeevi, the premier called on the Palestinians to cease "turning murderers into heroes." "We are focused on our mission, to fight the inciters and the murderers," the prime minister said. "The actions that are taken will make the message clear to the other side that terrorism doesn't pay.""Israel is strong, and it will be here forever, whether our enemies like it or not," Netanyahu said. During the address, Netanyahu implored the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to "stop incitement coming from the Palestinian Authority, both in regards to the Temple Mount and in regards to legitimate self-defense as exercised by Israel." "You must fight extremism," Netanyahu said, directing his remarks to Abbas. The prime minister told the Palestinians that "you will bear responsibility" if "the deterioration in the security situation comes about as a result of incitement."

Israel Targets Syria Army Posts after Rockets Hit Golan
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/Israeli artillery targeted Syrian army posts Tuesday after two rockets fired from Syria hit the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan Heights, Israel's army said. "In response to the rocket fire, IDF artillery targeted two military posts of the Syrian Armed Forces in the central Syrian Golan Heights," an army statement said. The statement did not specify if the posts were hit. Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, the Golan has been tense, with an increasing number of mostly stray rockets and mortar rounds hitting the Israeli side, prompting the occasional armed response. Israel had earlier said that two "stray" rockets hit the area of the Golan Heights it controls, without causing casualties or damage. They were likely "stray fire from internal fighting in Syria," the army said. Israel said it held Syria's army responsible for the "blatant breach of Israeli sovereignty," warning it would not tolerate rockets fired across the border, "intentional or not". Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the plateau in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.

Saudi FM: Saudi position on Syria ‘unchanged’
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/Saudi Arabia’s position on Syria is unchanged as the kingdom calls for President Bashar al-Assad’s step down, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Tuesday in a press conference with his French counterpart. In his remarks, Jubeir insisted that Assad has no future in Syria. Speaking at a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Jubeir said that it was up to the Houthi group and former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bring an end to the conflict. “We believe that a political solution is better in Yemen but the Houthis preferred the armed option,” he said. He also said that denying Iran’s support for the Houthis is “like saying the sun does not rise from the East.”“Iran’s involvement in the affairs of other states represents a regional problem,” he added. Fabius, in remarks translated into Arabic, called on Russia to use its influence to stop Assad from using barrel bombs in Syria and said Paris did not want Syria to descend into chaos.[With Reuters]

Saudi Executed for Killing Policeman
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed one of its citizens in the southern city of Abha after he was convicted of killing a policeman, the interior ministry said. Ali Assiri shot and killed the policeman while being arrested, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency. The ultra-conservative kingdom has carried out 134 executions, including of many foreigners, so far this year, according to an AFP count. This far exceeds a toll of 87 for the whole of 2014. Amnesty International says Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most prolific executioners, alongside China, Iran, Iraq and the United States. Under the kingdom's strict Islamic legal code, murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death. The interior ministry says the death penalty is an important deterrent. The vast majority of executions are carried out by beheading, some in public, but a few are carried out by firing squad.

Clemency Plea for Briton, 74, Facing Saudi Flogging
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/The family of a 74-year-old British man sentenced to 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia after being caught with home-made wine pleaded for clemency and government intervention Tuesday. Karl Andree has served a year in jail but has been told he could face a public flogging. His family say they fear the punishment could kill him and have urged the British government to intervene. "He's done his time now; he should be released. This lashing sentence -- we fear, because of his age, he won't survive it," his son, Simon, told BBC radio."He's a frail old man... enough is enough."The Foreign Office said it was actively seeking his release. The Sun newspaper said that despite having served his sentence, Andree was still in jail as Saudi officials wait to carry out the flogging. Saudi Arabia's legal code is based on Islamic sharia law. The cancer-surviving grandfather of seven has lived in Saudi Arabia for 25 years, working in the oil industry. His wife Verity has returned to Britain for full-time care due to her worsening Alzheimer's disease. Andree's son implored British Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene personally, but feared that his father was "at the bottom of the list"."I feel that all the business dealings with Saudi Arabia and the UK are probably taking priority," he said. Saudi Arabia is Britain's most important trade partner in the Middle East and was its biggest market for arms exports last year. The Times newspaper reported Tuesday that British ministers were at odds over an impending £5.9 million ($9 million, 7.9 million euro) contract to provide a "training-needs analysis" for the Saudi penal system. It said Justice Secretary Michael Gove wanted to pull out of the deal agreed by his predecessor, but Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond thought it would make Britain look untrustworthy to a key ally. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Our embassy staff are continuing to assist Mr. Andree, including regular visits to check on his welfare, and frequent contact with his lawyer and family. "Ministers and senior officials have raised Mr. Andree's case with the Saudi government and we are actively seeking his release as soon as possible."

France Signs Deals Worth $10 Bn with Saudi
By The Associated Press | Damascus/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/France on Tuesday announced a series of deals worth 10 billion euros ($11.4 billion) with Saudi Arabia, reinforcing growing ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced the deals, some still to be finalized, on Twitter during a visit to Riyadh. He said they showed that his government was "mobilized for our companies and employment".The agreements include contracts and letters of intent between the two countries, whose economic and political ties have grown under President Francois Hollande. One agreement was a Saudi order for 30 patrol boats, while another will create a Saudi fund for investment in small- and medium-sized French businesses. The lifting of an embargo on French beef, imposed over "mad cow" disease, will allow 37 French firms to resume exports to the Gulf kingdom, Valls' office said. Other deals under discussion could cover telecommunications and surveillance satellites, urban transport and energy. rance is the third-largest investor in Saudi Arabia, and Valls said he expects additional deals to be finalized. "We don't doubt for one instance that these letters of intent will be confirmed," said Valls. The announcements came during the third high-level visit this year by French officials to the world's largest oil exporter. France has boosted ties with the conservative Islamic kingdom -- the Arab world's largest economy -- despite persistent criticism from rights activists of its record on civil liberties. For Saudi Arabia, expanding ties with France are part of an effort to build alliances beyond its traditional defense partner the United States, to counter Riyadh's regional rival Iran. Valls late on Monday opened a forum to promote commercial ties between French and Saudi firms. He is on a regional tour which has already taken him to Jordan and Egypt, along with Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is also in Riyadh. Hollande visited in January to pay his respects after king Abdullah died, and in May returned to become the first Western leader to attend a Gulf Cooperation Council summit. The order for patrol boats is the latest in a series of weapons deals Paris has made in the region this year. On Saturday, Egypt signed a deal with France to buy two Mistral warships originally ordered by Russia. According to French government sources, Egypt will pay 950 million euros, with "significant" financing from Saudi Arabia. France this year also sold 24 Rafale warplanes to Egypt and Qatar. In Cairo, Valls highlighted joint efforts against extremism, saying: "We all have a common enemy -- Daesh."He was using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist Islamic State group which has seized territory in Syria and Iraq, where it has carried out widespread atrocities, and inspired attacks elsewhere. Both France and Saudi belong to the U.S.-led coalition that has bombed IS which has also claimed responsibility for attacks in the kingdom this year. Riyadh and its Sunni-dominated neighbors accuse their Shiite regional rival Iran of meddling in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. Since March, Riyadh has led an Arab coalition backing local Yemeni forces, first with air strikes and now also with ground troops, against Iran-supported Huthi rebels who had seized much of Yemen. Human rights watchdogs have repeatedly criticized the coalition's aerial bombardment of Yemen, saying they had hit with no military targets. French aid agency Action Against Hunger (ACF) on Monday said Valls's visit seemed to favor negotiating contracts, notably military ones "with a powerful economic ally", instead of looking for diplomatic solutions to the war in Yemen where civilians are suffering. The French delegation was discreet on the subject of human rights, but Valls told reporters he had "called for clemency" for Ali al-Nimr, a member of the minority Shiite community facing the death penalty. Nimr was just 17 when arrested in February 2012 after taking part in pro-reform protests, and his case has raised international concerns.

Two rockets hit Russian embassy in Syria, no casualties reported
By The Associated Press | Damascus/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/Two shells were fired at Russia's embassy in Damascus on Tuesday during a demonstration in support of Moscow, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to the building. The incident came nearly two weeks after Russia, a major ally of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, launched air strikes against Syrian rebels and ISIS extremists. One witness said both shells appeared to land in a park close to the embassy compound. A second witness said one of them landed inside the compound but did not hit the building itself. Russia's Interfax news agency said two rockets landed in the embassy grounds. It quoted a diplomat at the embassy as saying none of the embassy employees was wounded.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the rockets were fired from the eastern edges of the capital, where rebels are entrenched. The Russian embassy has been the target of rocket attacks before. (With AFP)

Lavrov: Damascus Shelling of Russia Embassy an 'Act of Terror'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday described the shelling of Moscow's embassy in Damascus as an "act of terror" aimed at intimidating those who support Moscow's bombing campaign in Syria. "It is a clear act of terror meant to scare supporters of fighting terrorism," Lavrov told reporters in Moscow, after two rockets struck the Russian embassy compound. Nobody was killed during the incident which took place as some 300 people were rallying near the embassy in support of Russia's recent intervention in Syria. Demonstrators had been waving Russian flags and holding up large photographs of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We are counting on the perpetrators being found and that measures be taken to prevent such acts in the future," Lavrov said, adding Moscow would investigate the incident along with Syrian authorities. Russian late last month launched a bombing campaign in the war-torn country at the request of its ally President Bashar al-Assad against what Moscow says are targets of the Islamic State jihadist group and other "terrorists". On Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said its air force had hit 86 targets in Syria in the past 24 hours, destroying "terrorist" command posts, training camps and ammunition depots. And Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front called on jihadists from the Caucasus to perpetrate attacks in Russia in response to the air strikes. Lavrov was on Tuesday meeting the United Nations' Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura in Moscow for the first time since the Kremlin launched its bombing campaign.

Russia: Air force hits 86 ISIS targets in Syria
Reuters and AFP/Tuesday, 13 October 2015/Russia's air force has made 88 sorties, hitting 86 Islamic State targets in Syria in the last 24 hours, Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a defense ministry representative. The targets were hit in Ragga, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo regions, it added. President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia is not striving for leadership over Syria, adding that existing cooperation with Western countries over the Syrian conflict was not enough. "How is it possible to work together?" Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow, adding that Washington declined to share intelligence on Syria. Russia, the United States and Europe should encourage political dialogue between the sides of the Syrian conflict, Putin added. Putin also said that Turkey was one of Russia's most important partners, and that Russia needed to understand how to build relations with Turkey to fight terrorism.

Syria's Al-Nusra Calls on Jihadists in Caucasus to Attack Russia
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/The head of Al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate has called on jihadists in the Caucasus to attack Russian civilians and soldiers in retaliation for Moscow's air strikes in Syria. "If the Russian army kills the people of Syria, then kill their people. And if they kill our soldiers, then kill their soldiers. An eye for an eye," Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, the head of Al-Nusra Front, said in an audio recording released late Monday. He pledged that Moscow's air war in Syria, which began on September 30, would have dire consequences for Russia. "The war in Syria will make the Russians forget the horrors that they found in Afghanistan," Jolani said, adding: "They will be shattered, with God's permission, on Syria's doorstep."Russia has said its aerial raids are targeting the Islamic State group, a jihadist rival of Al-Nusra, as well as other extremist groups. Moscow's strikes have concentrated on areas in northwestern Syria where Al-Nusra has a powerful presence, mostly in the province of Idlib. A US-led air coalition fighting IS in Syria has also targeted Al-Nusra on several occasions. Jolani called on armed opposition groups to set aside their differences until both air wars had been defeated. "Delay the disputes until the demise and smashing of the Western Crusader and Russian campaign on Syrian land," he said. The jihadist chief also called for attacks on Syria's Alawite minority, the sect from which President Bashar Assad hails. "I call on all armed factions to gather the highest number of shells and rockets and to hurl hundreds of rockets every day at the Nusayri villages, just like the scoundrels do to the Sunni villages and towns, to make you taste what our people are suffering," Jolani said. Nusayri is a derogatory term for Alawites, considered by Al-Nusra's extreme interpretation of Islam to be apostates.
"When they will stop attacking our village and cities, we will stop attacking theirs," he added.

EU and Iran Discuss Ways to End War in Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 13/15/EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and top Iranian officials discussed ways Tuesday to bring peace to Syria and combat Islamic State jihadi fighters there, a statement said. In the highest level talks since Mogherini visited Tehran in July in the wake of the historic Iran nuclear deal, she and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met for three hours, followed by talks between senior officials. "There was an agreement that only a political track, that involves all parties, can ensure a stable solution to the conflict in Syria and to this end a joint effort of all the relevant regional and international actors is required," the statement issued by the EU said. "The dire humanitarian situation was also highlighted," it said of a conflict which has cost some 250,000 lives and displaced 12 million people, half the Syrian population. Iran supports Syrian President Bashar Assad against western-backed rebels seeking to depose him. Mogherini and EU foreign ministers reiterated Monday that Assad should have no role in a future Syria but called for an "inclusive transition" process to a new government which could involve representatives of the regime. Some EU member states believe it is inevitable that Assad play some interim role but others such as Britain and France are staunchly opposed. The statement made no mention of the international accord with Iran on its contested nuclear program which Mogherini helped negotiate earlier this year and its formal passage Tuesday through parliament in Tehran. Mogherini tweeted separately: "Good news from Tehran today: parliamentary process of the nuclear deal completed, getting closer to formal adoption."

The Iranian Majlis Has Not Approved The JCPOA But Iran's Amended Version Of It
By: A. Savyon and Y. Carmon*
MEMRI/October 13, 2015 Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1192
On October 13, 2015 the Iranian Majlis approved, by a majority of 161-59 with 13 abstentions, not the JCPOA but rather an Iranian amended version it. Paragraph 3 of the Majlis decision states that "the government will monitor any non-performance by the other party [to the agreement] in the matter of failing to lift the sanctions, or restoring the canceled sanctions, or imposing sanctions for any another reason, and will take steps to actualize the rights of the Iranian nation and to terminate the voluntary cooperation [this apparently refers to the Additional Protocol, which, according to the JCPOA, Iran will implement voluntarily] and to handle the rapid expansion of the Iranian nuclear program for peaceful purposes, so that within two years the enrichment potential in Iran will reach 190,000 SWU. The Supreme National Security Council will handle this matter, and the government will to submit to the Council a plan in the matter within four months."[1]
Implications:
Considering that the non-cancellation of the sanctions is part of the JCPOA (according to the JCPOA, U.S. sanctions will be merely "suspended," rather than canceled, so as to allow their "snapback" in the case of an Iranian violation); and considering that the re-imposition of sanctions, and the imposition of new sanctions, in case of an Iranian violation are likewise part of the JCPOA – the Majlis decision constitutes ratification of a nonexistent document. It was not a ratification of the JCPOA as it stands, but rather of additional demands made by Iran after the JCPOA was agreed upon on July 14, 2015 in Vienna.
Furthermore, the inclusion of these new Iranian demands in a Majlis decision constitutes the first written demand by an Iranian authority to amend the agreement, a demand that was mentioned verbally on September 3, 2015 by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.[2]
The Majlis decision defines clauses in the JCPOA as "non-performance of the agreement by the other party" and therefore the Majlis' approval is meaningless.
* A. Savyon is director of the MEMRI Iran Media Project; Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] ISNA (Iran), October 13, 2015.
[2] Khamenei announced explicitly on September 3, 2015 that he does not accept the terms of the agreement and demanded that the sanctions should be immediately removed, rather than suspended, as a condition for accepting the agreement. See the following MEMRI reports:
Special Dispatch No. 6151, "Khamenei Declares That He Will Not Honor The Agreement If Sanctions Are Merely Suspended And Not Lifted," September 4, 2015; Special Dispatch No. 6162, "Expected September 28 NY Meeting Between P5+1 Foreign Ministers And Iran Could Signify Reopening Of Nuclear Negotiations To Address Khamenei's September 3 Threat That If Sanctions Are Not Lifted, But Merely Suspended, There Will Be No Agreement," September 21, 2015.

Iran At The Crossroads: Between Russia And The U.S.
By: A. Savyon and Y. Carmon*
MEMRI/October 13, 2015/ Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1191
According to recently published reports, for example a report by Ibrahim Al-Amin, board chairman of the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, in the past four months Iran has held intensive contacts with Russia to coordinate the parameters of Russia's intervention in Syria.[1] According to Al-Amin, it was agreed that Moscow would focus on controlling Syrian airspace and providing advanced and qualitative weaponry to the Syrian regime forces, whereas Iran would be in charge of ground operations and would increase its financial assistance and the number of its troops in Syria.
In recent months, the Arab and Western media reported that senior Russian and Iranian officials had made mutual visits to each other's countries, stressing in particular Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov's visit in Tehran on August 4, 2015, and the visits of Qassem Suleimani, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, to Moscow in July, August and September 2015. It should be noted that a reported meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry.[2]
It appears that the Iranian regime has been maneuvering simultaneously vis-à-vis the U.S. on the nuclear issue and vis-à-vis Russia on the issue of expanding Moscow's military-diplomatic intervention in the region.[3] The Rohani government and its Foreign Ministry were kept out of these diplomatic contacts with Russia; they were handled by IRGC Qods Force commander Suleimani, who is in charge of managing the combat fronts in Syria and Iraq.
The two negotiation tracks reflect two contradictory and rival directions in Iranian policy, which are being promoted by the rival political forces within Iran. The pragmatic camp, headed by Hashemi Rafsanjani and the Rohani government, is trying to lead Iran towards the strategic choice of openness towards the West in general and the US in particular. The ideological camp, on the other hand, rejects the move towards the U.S. and strives for strategic understandings and coordination with Russia regarding its military and diplomatic intervention in the region.
It should be emphasized that Supreme Leader Khamenei is the head of the ideological camp and supports the IRGC's moves in rejecting American regional involvement, even though he allowed the nuclear negotiations, in order to secure Iran's nuclear status and bring about the lifting of the sanctions.
This conflict between the strategies and between the rival camps in Iran will reach the decisive point in the next weeks and months, when Iran will have to choose whether to implement the nuclear agreement as it stands or impose new conditions calculated to delay its implementation, a measure that will destroy the pro-Western move The fact that the hour of decision in the conflict is approaching is reflected, on the one hand, in Khamenei's ban on any further negotiation with the U.S. (following the conclusion of the JCPOA),[4] and, on the other hand, in statements by President Rohani and Expediency Council Chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani, who came out against the ideological camp and against Khamenei by stressing the impossibility of halting the course of the agreement with the U.S.. Rohani said on October 7, 2015: "In social and political affairs, we all must learn that, if we want to turn left we must signal left, and if do the opposite – namely signal right and then turn left – it will be a disaster. In diplomacy, when someone signals the wrong way, it places society at risk, and if someone performs a U-turn where a U-turn is not allowed, he can hurt himself and others."[v] Rafsanjani posted on his Instagram page a picture of himself with Foreign Minister Zarif, headed: "When the people's will is accompanied by divine fate, no force can stop it" #the_nuclear_agreement_represents_the_will_of an_entire_people."[5]
* A. Savyon is director of the MEMRI Iran Media Project; Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), October 12, 2015.
[2] Interfax-religion.com, October 7, 2015.
[3] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-'Abadi said that he was "prepared to examine any Russian proposal to shell ISIS in Iraq." Al-Quds (London), October 1, 2015.
[4] Khamenei.ir, October 7, 2015.
[5] ISNA (Iran), October 7, 2015
[6] Instagram.com/p/8tGX7nLNkK

A mass murder mystery highlights Turkey’s political fragility
Dr. John C. Hulsman/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
This past weekend’s Ankara suicide bombings, which killed at least 128 people attending a peace rally, is the worst terrorist attack in Turkey’s history. There are suspects aplenty. The rally was organized by the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to demand a halt to the escalating conflict between the increasingly authoritarian Turkish government and the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK). This renewal of a war that had cost tens of thousands of lives was itself due to the last major terrorist outrage - in Suruc, on the Syrian-Turkish border - where earlier this year a suicide bomber probably inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) killed 37 pro-Kurdish activists. Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan used the attack as a pretext to crack down on the PKK as part of his ruthless but clever election strategy.
Suspects
ISIS has to be the primary suspect in the Ankara bombings. It is in direct conflict with highly effective Kurdish fighters in both Iraq and Syria. Anything that undermined Kurds’ growing political strength in Turkey - where the HDP surprised observers by winning 13 percent of the last parliamentary vote - would be in ISIS’s interest. So it had the motive, means and opportunity to carry out the attack. With so many plausible suspects in the Ankara bombings, the state is more fragile than it has been in memory. However, there are other suspects. Far-right Turkish nationalist groups such as the shadowy Grey Wolves, or elements of the security services - both outraged at Kurdish electoral successes - also had a motive to instigate the attack. Chaos ahead of parliamentary elections on Nov. 1 could push Turkey to the right, seeing the need for law and order above all else. Such a sea change would ruin the HDP and allow the ruling AK Party (AKP) and other forces on the right to win the contest. This would lead to the emergence of a new strong-arm president, which is what the Turkish right has wanted all along. There is a third possibility. One of the frustrations of assessing the Middle East is dealing with an almost constant barrage of conspiracy theories. My standard line to the region’s observers of my own country, the United States, is that they have been watching too many movies. Politics is more about mistakes made by well-meaning if deeply flawed people, than masterstrokes engendered by highly intelligent Machiavellian forces.
However, in this case there is a conspiracy theory that must be considered: the Turkish government itself. Given the imminence of parliamentary elections, the timing of the attack raises suspicions that pro-Erdogan forces may have been directly involved.
Taking advantage
He is undoubtedly using this tragedy to further his long-term goal of installing himself as an all-powerful president for years to come. That is certainly what the thousands who gathered in Ankara’s main square to mourn their dead comrades think. Chanting “thief and murderer, Erdogan,” the crowd left little doubt as to who they blame. What is certainly true, and far more provable, is the HDP charge that the government, through its control of the police, failed to protect the rally in the same way they would have for an AKP gathering. By not protecting opposition rallies, the police are at least partly to blame through not doing their job.Moving quickly and decisively as he often does, following the bombings Erdogan made clear that he was the only force in the country who could be relied on to combat the looming terrorist threat, despite the fact that he had just failed to do so. He called for three days of public mourning for the victims, but said the Nov. 1 election would go ahead.
With press freedoms curtailed ahead of the poll, in an atmosphere of increasing fear and concern for the stability of the state, Erdogan is trying to entice voters to give the AKP a decisive parliamentary majority this time on his law-and-order, security-first platform. It is a callous strategy, but that does not mean it will not work. With so many plausible suspects in the Ankara bombings, the state is more fragile than it has been in memory, just as the elections clearly amount to a watershed in Turkey’s history. One of the great powers of the Middle East hangs on a knife edge.

Understanding the depth of Syrian refugee selfies
Diana Moukalled/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
It should be no surprise why refugees take selfies when arriving in Europe. If I went through an experience similar to theirs, I would document the entire trip using my phone, and if I survived I would post it on social media. Criticism of refugees taking selfies in Europe has mostly come from those angry at the refugee influx. They claim that the joyous photos suggest these people are not suffering, but have come to Europe by choice for purely economic reasons. “Do you think that hundreds of thousands of people would leave their homes and embark on this difficult road just because of a selfie with the Chancellor?” asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel following criticism of her appearing in selfies with refugees. Taking and posting selfies is also a way of reassuring loved ones that they are safe and well. Those who are angry at such selfies ignore the importance of smart phones for refugees, as they contain maps and information about roads and the weather. Taking and posting selfies is also a way of reassuring loved ones that they are safe and well.
Documentation
Smart phones have become a major means of communications in areas where landlines are not available. Refugees are not necessarily very poor, and those fleeing Syria are not as poor as some may think. Smart phones have become a major part of the Syrian struggle. Syrians have used them to record videos of their protests, and attacks against them, since the start of the revolution. No media outlets can produce photos as powerful as those Syrians have taken of their lives inside their country during the past few years. When the regime prevented foreign media outlets from entering Syria, the people took charge of their own fate by taking photos. “We Syrians took photos of every protest and of every massacre,” a Syrian refugee told German media. “We won’t stop taking pictures and sharing them now [that we escaped death]. Migration and asylum are part of our story.”

Memories of the 1988 Algerian Spring
Jamal Khashoggi/Al Arabiya/October 13/15
Algerians might say they are alright when they see what is happening in Syria or neighboring Libya. However, like other Arabs they continue to waste opportunities to catch up with the free, developed world. On Oct. 5, 1988, Algerians rose up against their deteriorating living conditions. As usual for Arab authoritarian regimes, the government oppressed its angry people, killing around 500. However, the protests continued and anger rose. This is the Arab Spring we did not watch on Al-Jazeera, which did not exist then. In the end, Algeria’s then-President Al-Shadli bin Jdid al-Salam chose what was best for him and his people, announcing constitutional, political and pluralistic reforms and free elections, thereby ending one-party rule. Despite this, however, governance failed, and production, the economy, services, education and quality of life deteriorated. Historians and analysts disagree on the causes of the Algerian Spring. Some consider it a planned movement to settle scores inside the government, while others believe it is the real and transparent result of repression, economic failure and deteriorating services. As a journalist I witnessed the Algerian Spring, and will share some of my memories there without commenting, so the reader can interpret them however he or she wants. Presidents and governments have come and gone, but the same class still rules, as with other Arab republics.
• I was invited to Algeria to attend a seminar right before the famous elections that the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won. Afterward, the gates of hell opened on Algeria due to a military coup and the cancellation of the election results. The star of the seminar was the late Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali, and its subject was “the Islamic future.” I had never seen a crowd that interested in what someone had to say. I took four Islamists from the audience to my room in the Eurasia Hotel, to learn more about their orientation and their participation in the protests. My room was on the top floor, and the hotel was on a hill overlooking all of Algeria. A young man, leaning against the wall and looking at the capital of his country from the balcony, said: “We couldn’t pass next to the fence of the hotel, and now I’m on the 14th floor above the whole capital. God is the greatest!”
• The hotel gave me an insight into the strict socialist system that prevailed in Algeria. One had to convert dollars at the official bank, and carry the receipt to pay with the local currency as the employee would attach the receipt to a bond he would keep. The menu was limited, and when I complained about my chicken platter to the waiter, he said there was nothing better. His rudeness was not an imported socialist trait, but purely Algerian.
• During my following trips to Algeria, I went to the more prestigious Algeria Hotel, which was once home to the French governor. It was very generous, putting Close Up toothpaste and a Kleenex tissue box in my room. These capitalist brands were prized back then because Algeria did not produce high-quality, simple goods such as tissue boxes and toothpaste.
• I accompanied FIS leader Sheikh Abassi Madani to Mostaganem city in western Algeria during his electoral campaign, which was totally free with no government interference. He drove his car himself, without any escorts or guards. His son Osama was in the car behind us with the famous footballer Osad, who joined the FIS and was arrested with them later on.
The FIS was the party of the Algerian people, as it was very popular and not only Islamic. We passed through fields that were once France’s bread basket. I asked Madani: “Throughout our journey, I’ve never seen in these fields a tractor harvesting or cows grazing.” He answered: “It’s their failing socialism. If they brought a bull and a cow here after independence and let them graze, they would’ve had huge animal wealth today.”
• A huge stadium was filled with FIS supporters - Algerian women and men from all social classes. People cheered and chanted “God is great” and “Islamic state” whenever a speech ended.
• I asked Madani’s permission to come back with one of the Salafist members of the FIS, which was a coalition of Islamist forces that was formed in a short space of time, united by the desire to build a just Islamic state. However, he asked me to come back with him.
I discovered later that there were problems within the FIS, especially when Madani told me about a member: “He grew up in a bad environment, this has distorted his way of thinking.” Madani kept talking about the problems he had with Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood, and asked me not to publish what he had told me. I am free of my promise after a quarter of a century. Analyzing these events demonstrates Algeria’s situation 25 years ago. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed. Pluralistic democracy is a facade, and elections are pre-determined. Presidents and governments have come and gone, but the same class still rules, as with other Arab republics. It fails in governance, while succeeding in wasting development opportunities for its citizens.

The "Islamic Inquisition" and the Blasphemy Police
Douglas Murray/Gatestone Institute/October 13/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6680/islamic-inquisition-blasphemy
There is a small but undeniable number who are willing to kill and sometimes die in the cause of imposing their idea of blasphemy on non-Muslims around the world.
The editors signalled that they had had enough of the threats and enough of the danger. They censored themselves.
Today there might be thousands of people willing to publish cartoons of Mohammed on their Twitter accounts, but most of them hide behind aliases and complain about the cowardice of others.
Our societies like to think that terrorism and intimidation do not work. They do -- or can -- but only if we let them.
Ten years ago, one of the editors of a Danish newspaper called Jyllands-Posten had heard that that no cartoonist in Denmark would depict Islam's prophet for a set of children's books on the major world religions. Did such self-censorship really exist in modern Denmark? He sought to find out. So he published a spread of twelve cartoons intended to depict the founder of Islam.
Attacks on the newspaper followed -- the most outspoken attempt at enforcing censorship since the death threats against Salman Rushdie for his novel, The Satanic Verses, in 1988, and the murder of Theo van Gogh for his film, Submission, in 2004. The knife in van Gogh's back also went through a note demanding death threats for Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Dutch MP at the time, and the Dutch MP, Geert Wilders.
Some of the cartoons printed by Jyllands-Posten led to attacks on the newspaper for having printed them. Some of the cartoons did not even feature Mohammed at all. One, of a Mohammed-like figure with a bomb in his turban, became famous. Local Danish Imams, disappointed at the relative beigeness of the cartoons, added more offensive cartoons of their own to a portfolio, and toured the Middle East with this, trying to whip up anger against Denmark. As many remember, the incitement worked. For a time, aside from all the looting, burnings and murders, the whole world seemed transfixed on these cartoons and what the reactions to them might mean.
Across a number of countries, there were independent outbreaks of mini cartoon-crises. The decision of Ezra Levant to stand alone and publish the cartoons in Canada led to a North American branch of the cartoon crisis. The decision of a number of Norwegian newspapers to print the cartoons, in solidarity with their neighbours, led to a Norwegian cartoon crisis. And, of course, in Paris, the decision of a single magazine -- Charlie Hebdo -- to continue depicting any and all historical figures, led to the slaughter of ten journalists and two police officers in the magazine's Paris offices in January this year.
Stéphane Charbonnier, the fearless editor and publisher of Charlie Hebdo, who was murdered on January 7 along with many of his colleagues, is shown here in front of the magazine's former offices, just after they were firebombed in November 2011.
Now is probably as good a time as any to ask a few questions -- not least, whether we have learned anything at all. Certainly, non-Muslims around the world have learned a great deal more about Islamic sensibilities when it comes to depictions of their Prophet. From within Muslim communities in Europe and elsewhere, there has been a demonstration that there is a small but undeniable number who are willing to kill and sometimes die in the cause of imposing their idea of blasphemy on non-Muslims around the world.
Aside from the attempts on the lives of the staff of Jyllands-Posten, there have been attempts on the life of the Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and the Swedish cartoonist who drew a Mohammed cartoon in solidarity after the first Danish cartoons, Lars Vilks. There have been countless other knocks on the door by the blasphemy police. In London, the publisher of a fawning book about the love life of Mohammed (The Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones) narrowly survived an attempt to firebomb his offices. If there was a single place on earth that one might have thought could be immune from a visit by the Islamic Blasphemy Police it would probably be somewhere in Texas. But earlier this year, when a display of Mohammed cartoons in took place in Garland, the assassins turned up anyway, and were, fortunately, shot.
So, one lesson is that perhaps nowhere on earth is now safe from the Islam's most stringent enforcers. They can crop up in remote parts of Scandinavia or in the heartland of America. They can show up at a newspaper office or at an individual's home. And it is in this realization that the clearest lesson of the last decade has been learnt.
Last week, on the anniversary of the publication of the first Mohammed cartoons, Jyllands-Posten republished the original spread. The page and texts were laid out as they had been on that famous day ten year earlier. But one thing was missing: the cartoons. Where the original images had been -- even the ones that did not depict Mohammed -- there were only blank spaces. What had been possible in 2005 was no longer possible in 2015. One can hardly blame the publishers. After ten years of paying for security, and staff having to work in perhaps the most threatened newspaper office on earth, the editors of Jyllands-Posten signalled that they had had enough of the threats and enough of the danger. They censored themselves.
It took only ten years for most people across the West to learn about Islamic blasphemy -- and in the end to abide by it. Today there might be thousands of people willing to publish cartoons of Mohammed on their Twitter accounts, but most of them hide behind aliases and complain about the cowardice of others.
A few days before the Mohammed cartoons' anniversary, Mark Steyn, Henryk Broder and the Norwegian editor Vebjoern Selbekk addressed a conference in Denmark to commemorate the anniversary of the cartoons. It was held in the Danish Parliament, the only building there now deemed safe enough to withstand the now-traditional attack from the Islamic Blasphemy Police. Anticipating a terrorist attack, the UK Foreign Office and U.S. State Departments both warned their citizens to stay away from the area of the Parliament building that day. The restaurant in which we were meant to be having dinner cancelled the booking; they realized, when police and security officers scouted out the building in advance, who the guests might be.
Ten years ago, you could publish depictions of Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. Ten years later, it is hard for anyone who has been connected with such an act to find a restaurant in Copenhagen that will serve them dinner.
It is not just artists and writers who have learned the lesson; it is everyone -- from newspaper conglomerates to the people who serve food in restaurants. Our societies like to think that terrorism and intimidation do not work. They do -- or can -- but only if we let them. Over the last ten years, a couple of brief eruptions of sanctimonious point-missing aside, it turned out to be fear -- not Mohammed cartoons -- that went viral.
Freedom, however, was never defended by more than a handful of people. Most prefer their comforts and a quiet life to anything that looks like a fight. But there are still more than a few good people across the world, and more than a handful of them in Scandinavia. If, in previous conflicts, one looked to pilots or statesman to lead the way, in this war against the new "Islamic Inquisition," it is journalists, cartoonists, writers and artists who find themselves on the front lines and who need to lead. Some of them might be surprised to be in this position. They should not be. Freedom of expression and thought have always had vicious enemies. But the truth has always seen them off, and shall do again.

Making Sense of the Ankara Bombing
Daniel Pipes/Daniel Pipes Blog /Oct 13, 2015
It's an especially delicate time in Turkish politics, between a first round of voting in June that resulted in a hung parliament and a second round scheduled for Nov. 1. The frenzied run-up to the latter election has witnessed growing violence against the country's Kurdish minority, starting with an attack in July on peace marchers, leaving 33 dead; a spate of Kurdish revenge attacks on policemen and soldiers; an entire Kurdish town, Cizre, placed under siege; and Kurds responded by declaring autonomous zones.
Then, on Oct. 10, came the worst act of violence in modern Turkish history, a double bombing outside Ankara's central railroad station that killed at least 105 marchers for Turkish-Kurdish peace and injured over 400. No one claimed responsibility for the assault, prompting politicians and analysts – myself included – to engage in intense speculation about the perpetrators' identity and purpose.
The bomb went off as the Ankara demonstrators danced arm in arm.
The first hunch, that the Islamic State (or ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh) independently undertook this operation against Kurds makes no sense, for although Kurds are ISIS' most effective enemy in neighboring Syria, to target them in the capital of Turkey against the wishes of the Turkish state would be an act of folly, as ISIS depends heavily on Turkish aid and does not want to provoke Turkish air strikes.
ISIS involvement must have taken place with the connivance of Turkish intelligence. The government has a motive: Eager to win a majority of seats in the next election both to avoid corruption probes and legitimately increase his power, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has initiated a quasi-war against the Kurds of Turkey hoping thereby to rouse Turkish nationalist feelings. The Ankara bombing exactly into this pattern. Further, it conforms to Turkish intelligence's history of dirty tricks, including some against Kurds, as well as a pattern of fabricating evidence against domestic rivals (such as the military or the Fethullah Gülen movement).
No less important, eyewitnesses recounted how the police used tear gas "as soon as the bomb went off" and "would not let ambulances through," leading angry victims to attack police cars.
Selahattin Demirtaş, the head of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party, put the same thought more poetically: "The state which has information about the bird that flies and every flap of its wings was not able to prevent a massacre in the heart of Ankara?" Until further information becomes available, we should assume that the Turkish president's hands are implicated in this horrid incident. (October 12, 2015)

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006 Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006