LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

October 24/16

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.october24.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

All those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.

As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 25/14-30/:"‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;
to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, "Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents." His master said to him, "Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master."Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, "Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours." But his master replied, "You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.
f you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Letter to the Galatians 06/01-10/:'My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 23-24/16

Lebanon's Hezbollah sees door 'wide open' for an Aoun presidency/By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington /Reuters/October 23/16
Pentagon Expects Mosul Push to Unlock Trove of ISIS Intelligence/Eric Dchmittoct/The New York Times/October 23/16
Will Iraq’s Shia Militias Cross the Border to Syria/Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
Putin’s Mideast “Pax-Russiana”: Moscow & Tehran Deploy Their Navies, Encircle the Region/Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
Cairo-Riyadh Tension Rising Again/Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
The battle for Mosul diverts attention away from Aleppo/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
Why has it taken so long to get child refugees to the UK/Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
The UN’s idea of women’s empowerment is fiction/Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
From King Abdulaziz to King Salman, everyone is under the rule of law/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 23/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October 23-24/16

Lebanon's Hezbollah sees door 'wide open' for an Aoun presidency
Nasrallah Says Hizbullah Not Opposed to Hariri's Designation as PM, Calls It 'Very Big Sacrifice'
U.S.: Who Ultimately Becomes President of Lebanon is Up to Lebanese People
Aoun, Hizbullah Reportedly Reject Postponement of Oct. 31 Voting Session
Reports: Hizbullah Supports Aoun, but Refuses Authority Without Berri
Rifi: We will freely express our right
Berri: I will not bloc Presidential elections
Report: Nasrallah Met Berri ahead of Expected Talks with Aoun
Berri: Don't Waste Time Trying to Convince Me to Vote for Aoun
Elie Aoun: Jumblatt not intransigent towards Aoun's candidacy, options open
Rahi winds up his visit to Italy, returns to Beirut
Cluster bomb found nearby a sports field in Srifa
Sukleen workers end strike
Sandy Tabet Crowned Miss Lebanon 2016

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on October 23-24/16
U.S. Condemns Assad's 'Defiance' on Chemical Weapons Use
Clashes, Artillery Fire Hit Aleppo after Truce Expires
Pentagon chief urges ‘isolation operation’ for ISIS-held Raqa
Turkey hits ISIS in Iraq following Kurdish request
Iraq parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol
Syrian army senior officer killed over alleged sexual assaults
King Salman receives Swedish premier
Saudi king receives Venezuela’s president at his palace
Former Qatari emir dies at 83
Saudi man who beheaded his parents arrested in Taif
Swiss court faults employer for firing woman over headscarf
Houthis suppress Sana’a prison protest
Saudi forces respond to militias’ violations of ceasefire
Yemeni govt supports UN call to extend truce
Shabaab takes Somali town after Ethiopia troop pullout
One Killed, Two Injured in Japan Park Blasts
EU, Canada to Decide Monday on Trade Pact Signing Summit
Oil price down cycle 'nearing end': Saudi minister
Iran: A look at the suicide causes - Suicide rate in some parts of the country higher than the world average
Working children earn 8-9 Dollars a day. Collecting 1370 street children in the past six months
Health of 14 million Iranian in danger
Trial of the Revealer of audio tape concerning the 1988 Massacre in Iran

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on October 23-24/16
Mosul civilians and children tortured with hammers by US-backed Iraqi “liberators”
UK government puts up 15-foot screens so arriving Muslim migrant “children” can’t be seen
Hugh Fitzgerald: Hillary, George Washington, and Islam
UK: Migrant’s foster mother finds he isn’t 12-year-old “refugee” but 21-year-old jihadi
Iraq bans booze: “No law that contradicts Islam may be established”
Video: Robert Spencer on “hate speech,” the war on free speech, and Hillary Clinton
Germany: New Year’s Eve Muslim migrant sex attacks wiped from police records
WikiLeaks: Alliance of Hillary, Iran, Soros and left-wing Catholics

Links From Christian Today Site for on October 23-24/16
Trump: In My First Hundred Days I'll Sue Women Who Accused Me Of Assault
Massacre In Mosul As Civilians Used As Human Shields
Power Women: The Villagers Standing Up Against Sierra Leone's Rapists
Lord Carey Admits He Deserves To Be Criticised Over Ex-Bishop Sex Abuse Case
Opium Crops Spread In Afghanistan As Taliban Gains Ground
Tom Wright: Church Must Reclaim Its Prophetic Role In Society
Iraqi Army Liberates Christian Town As US Defence Secretary Flies In For Talks
Trump Slashes Clinton Lead After He Claims Election Is 'Rigged'
EU Slams Britain: ISIS Is Committing Genocide And You're Doing Nothing

Latest Lebanese Related News published on on October 23-24/16

Lebanon's Hezbollah sees door 'wide open' for an Aoun presidency
By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington /Reuters/October 23/16
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday the door to electing a president was "wide open" and his members of parliament would vote for ally Michel Aoun at a parliamentary session at the end of October. Although Christian leader Aoun still faces opposition from some political figures and might not secure the two-thirds majority required to win a first round of voting, sources say he probably has enough support to win by a simple majority in a second round. Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years, part of a political crisis that has resulted in a breakdown in many basic services and concerns about the country's stability. Lebanon's former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday he would back Christian leader Aoun to be president, in an arrangement which is expected to result in Hariri eventually being appointed prime minister again.
Sunni Muslim leader Hariri is a longtime opponent of Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and his move to support Aoun encountered opposition from members of his own Future Movement party. Hariri stressed that his endorsement was a "political settlement" for the benefit of the whole country.
Nasrallah said: "The past few days saw an important development: a declaration by the Future Movement leader (Hariri) of his support for the nomination of General Michel Aoun for the presidency. The door is now realistically wide open for a successful presidential election."
Parliament will convene on Oct. 31 for a session to elect the president, the 46th such sitting since the term of the last president, Michel Suleiman, expired in 2014. Each of the previous sittings failed to gain the two-thirds quorum needed to hold a vote. "At the next session to elect the president, all of (Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc) the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc will attend, God willing, and it will elect General Michel Aoun ... as president of the Lebanese republic," Nasrallah said. The position of president must be filled by a Maronite Christian. The first round of voting requires two-thirds of Lebanon's 128 MPs to attend a session and a candidate will be elected president if they secure a two-thirds majority, or 86 votes. If no candidate gets this number of votes, a second round of voting is held on the same day where a candidate requires a simple majority of 65 votes to win.
Aoun's most prominent opponent is Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who also heads the Shiite Muslim Amal party which is an ally of Hezbollah. Berri was quoted by the state news agency on Sunday as saying he would not "disrupt the quorum", implying his MPs would not boycott the parliamentary session.
Nasrallah spoke at a commemoration event for a Hezbollah military commander recently killed fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Iran-backed Hezbollah is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's conflict.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington; editing by Andrew Roche)

Nasrallah Says Hizbullah Not Opposed to Hariri's Designation as PM, Calls It 'Very Big Sacrifice'
Naharnet/October 23/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed Sunday that his party is not opposed to the re-designation of al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri as premier, describing the stance as a “very big sacrifice.”“Nothing was for free. There were discussions for more than a month. They asked about the premiership should they accept to vote for General (Michel) Aoun for president,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech marking a week since the death in Syria of Hizbullah commander Hatem Hamade – referring to officials from Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement.
“They received an answer from General Aoun and from (Free Patriotic Movement chief) Mr. Jebran Bassil and yet they insisted on asking us and hearing from us and we told them that we do not mind,” Nasrallah added. “This a huge decision at all the political and psychological levels. Some parties are saying that they are offering sacrifices and I would also like to announce that we are offering a very big sacrifice when we say that we are not opposed to the appointment of ex-PM Saad Hariri as premier,” Hizbullah's chief went on to say. He described Hariri's official endorsement of Aoun's nomination as an “important development” that “largely paves the way for holding the presidential election in a realistic manner.” “Hariri's endorsement speech carried escalation and attacks against us but we will not respond now and we will focus on the positive side,” Nasrallah added. “Everything can be addressed through dialogue and it will be addressed through dialogue,” Hizbullah's leader stressed. Commenting on recent media reports, Nasrallah added: “I stress that none of the allies and rivals is thinking of chaos and civil war and what was attributed to AMAL Movement's leadership in this regard is baseless and has been categorically denied.”As for AMAL's concerns regarding the FPM-Mustaqbal agreements that preceded Hariri's endorsement of Aoun, Nasrallah emphasized that “no one in Lebanon is thinking of establishing a bilateral form of power-sharing on a political, sectarian or two-party level.”“Everyone in Lebanon realizes that Lebanon cannot be run and that it does not bear to be run by any bilateral agreement, no matter what any two parties might represent, but some indications have stirred concerns and we must all address these points of concern,” he said. As for political calls that Hizbullah should press its allies to endorse Aoun's nomination, Nasrallah added: “We do not order or pressure our allies and they do what they are convinced of.” “After Hariri's declaration, we started exerting efforts with our allies and we will continue that and we're looking forward to a calm and reasonable election,” he said.
And lamenting that “some parties are trying to stir discord between us and the FPM, between us and AMAL, and between us and Marada Movement,” Nasrallah underlined that the Hizbullah-AMAL relation is “deeper, stronger and firmer than being affected by all these bad fabrications that some have resorted to.”“We sit together with Speaker (Nabih) Berri and we discuss the things that we disagree on. We understand Speaker Berri's stances and he understands our stances. We will vote for Aoun in the presidential election session and AMAL might vote for someone else. This is not a distribution of roles but is rather called 'allies who respect each other',” Nasrallah added. “Our electoral choices will not affect our good ties,” he stressed.
Addressing FPM's supporters, Nasrallah called on them not to believe those who are saying that Hizbullah “does not want Aoun for the presidency,” in an apparent reference to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. “Our commitment to General Michel Aoun's nomination is final. The Loyalty to Resistance bloc will attend the session and all the members will vote for General Aoun,” Nasrallah emphasized. As for Syria, Nasrallah reiterated that the Aleppo battle is “decisive for the entire region because it will have military, strategic and political repercussions.”“No one ordered us to go to Syria and we went there after a comprehensive and extensive analysis,” he said. “The battle in which the martyr Alaa (Hatem Hamade) was martyred is still ongoing and we will maintain our presence in it,” Nasrallah added. Hizbullah's chief also stressed that his party's fighters will not "return to Lebanon" before "achieving victory in Syria."
Berri, who has openly declared that he opposes the election of Aoun, has pledged that his bloc will take part in the October 31 electoral session and that he will not try to strip the meeting of its quorum. Berri's aides have accused Aoun and Hariri of striking a “bilateral” agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that Aoun and his movement have denied. Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed his nomination on Thursday. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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. Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and 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. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

U.S.: Who Ultimately Becomes President of Lebanon is Up to Lebanese People
Naharnet/October 23/16/The U.S. State Department has announced that it hopes to see the presidential election process “moving forward” in Lebanon, noting that the election of a president is a Lebanese affair. “He was saying that what we hope will happen is that they’ll be able to... have an election and install a president... It’s important that the people of Lebanon, their voices be heard. And that’s what he’s referring to, the process moving forward,” U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said when asked by a reporter to clarify the latest remarks of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Asked whether the U.S. supports the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president, Kirby said Washington supports “the Lebanese people having the chance to have a vote and have a voice in who is their president.”“That’s what we support,” he added. As for the support Aoun receives from Hizbullah, which the U.S. labels a “terrorist organization,” Kirby said “nothing’s changed” about Washington's designation. “They are a terrorist organization. But again, who ultimately becomes president of Lebanon is up to the Lebanese people, and we’re going to respect that process,” he added. Kerry had announced that he was “not certain what the outcomes will be from the support that Saad Hariri is offering” to Aoun's presidential nomination. “I don’t know what the result will be yet, but we’re very hopeful. This stalemate on the issue of a presidency is hurting Lebanon, it hurts the region, and... we hope they can move forward,” Kerry said on Friday. Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan has tweeted that Kerry's statements "prove that the presidential juncture is Lebanese par excellence," noting that "his skepticism increases Aoun's chances." In a speech on Thursday, Hariri described his decision to endorse Aoun as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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. Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

Aoun, Hizbullah Reportedly Reject Postponement of Oct. 31 Voting Session
Naharnet/October 23/16/Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun and his ally Hizbullah have rejected any postponement of the October 31 presidential election session, a media report said on Sunday. “The idea of postponing the session to mid-November was raised in a small circle, but General Aoun totally rejected it, considering it an attempt to create reasons, justifications and factors that would torpedo the election,” An Nahar newspaper quoted sources close to Aoun as saying. “Hizbullah understood his fears in this regard, pledging that the session will be held on time,” the daily added. Speaker Nabih Berri, who has openly declared that he opposes the election of Aoun, has pledged that his bloc will take part in the session and that he will not try to strip the meeting of its quorum. Aoun was tipped to become president after al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri formally endorsed his nomination on Thursday.Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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. Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and 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. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

Reports: Hizbullah Supports Aoun, but Refuses Authority Without Berri
Naharnet/October 23/16/Hizbullah has decided to support its ally MP Michel Aoun in spite of Speaker Nabih Berri's opposition, but the party has also decided not to be in power without the Speaker and stressed commitment to this partnership, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday. Hizbullah believes that this partnership is taking into consideration not only the unity of the community but is also based on the firm conviction that it falls in the interest of the country, added the daily. Sources close to Hizbullah said that the party sees a duty and necessity to work on comprehensive understandings that do not distance anyone. Therefore it will assess Berri's opposition and escalation more as raising the roof, and less as cutting the road short on the election of Aoun, especially when it becomes clear that entrenching stability in Lebanon and restoring normal and dynamic life to its institutions is the title of the next phase. Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri had formally announced his endorsement of Aoun for the presidency on Thursday after his previous support for the presidential nomination of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Berri has openly announced that he will not vote for Aoun in any presidential election session and some officials of his AMAL Movement have accused Aoun and Hariri of seeking a bilateral agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that Aoun and his movement have denied. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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.The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

Rifi: We will freely express our right
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - Resigned Justice Minister, Ashraf Rifi, warned on Sunday Minister of the Interior and Municipalities and North Governor, saying "our right to freedom of expression is a constitutional, legal, and sacred right.""We will freely exercise our right and they can never prevent us," Resigned Minister Rifi added. "We consider that Michel Aoun represents an extension of the Iranian project, and we have also considered Sleiman Frangieh an extension of the Syrian project," Rifi pointed out. "We rejected the first project and we will reject the second one," he concluded.

Berri: I will not bloc Presidential elections
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - House Speaker, Nabih Berri, said on Sunday that he would not block the presidential election. "I already told General Michel Aoun that obstructing the elections was in my pocket. But, I will not do it," Speaker Berri declared from Geneva. Berri presided the consultative meeting of the Parliamentary Union of OIC Member states at the headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He also said that he asked the Lebanese components to agree on the formation of a government.

Report: Nasrallah Met Berri ahead of Expected Talks with Aoun
Naharnet/October 23/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has held a “lengthy” meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri and talks tackled all the developments of the presidential file and Berri's “political and sectarian concerns,” a media report said on Sunday. “The meeting was positive and it tackled the stance of the AMAL Movement leader,” ad-Diyar newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. It said that there is a “full agreement that each party would respect the commitments of the other party regarding the presidential candidate.”The sources noted that there are no agreements on “all the other essential issues, such as the re-designation of ex-PM Saad Hariri as premier, the cabinet line-up or the distribution of the portfolios.”“These are essential issues that Berri, Hizbullah, the Progressive Socialist Party and other parties cannot leave to (Free Patriotic Movement chief) Minister Jebran Bassil and (Hariri's adviser) Mr. Nader Hariri,” the sources added. “These issues have to do with all the influential political forces in the country and political disputes and obstruction would surface” should these forces be excluded, the sources warned. Ad-Diyar also noted that a tripartite meeting will be held between Nasrallah, Berri and FPM founder MP Michel Aoun “hours before the election of the new president.”Berri, who has openly declared that he opposes the election of Aoun, has pledged that his bloc will take part in the October 31 electoral session and that he will not try to strip the meeting of its quorum. Berri's aides have accused Aoun and Hariri of striking a “bilateral” agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that Aoun and his movement have denied. Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed his nomination on Thursday. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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. Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and 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.The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

Berri: Don't Waste Time Trying to Convince Me to Vote for Aoun
Naharnet/October 23/16/Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly stressed that no one should “waste time” trying to convince him to vote for Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in the October 31 presidential election session. “Prior to his travel to Geneva, Berri told mediators that securing quorum for the Oct. 31 presidential election session is the maximum that he can do regarding the presidential file,” the Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas quoted a source close to Berri as saying in remarks published Sunday. “This is already too much,” the source quoted Berri as saying. “Berri called on mediators not to waste time trying to persuade him to change his stance that is opposed to the election of General Michel Aoun,” the source added. Later on Sunday, Berri confirmed to reporters in Geneva that he told Aoun during their meeting on Thursday that he would not seek to strip the Oct. 31 session of its quorum although he is capable of making such a move. Berri, who has openly declared that he opposes the election of Aoun, has pledged that his bloc will take part in the October 31 electoral session and that he will not try to strip the meeting of its quorum. Berri's aides have accused Aoun and al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri of striking a “bilateral” agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that Aoun and his movement have denied. Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed his nomination on Thursday. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, 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. Hariri had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and 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.The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.

Elie Aoun: Jumblatt not intransigent towards Aoun's candidacy, options open
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - "Democratic Gathering Party leader, MP Walid Jumblatt, is not intransigent towards Aoun's candidacy for presidency, while he affirmed that all the options are open," Democratic Gathering Party member, MP Elie Aoun, said during an interview on "Free Lebanon" Radio Station. Deputy Aoun said that yesterday's Party meeting presided by MP Jumblatt considered that the International and Regional interest in Lebanon declined, notably regarding the presidential elections file. "The Party will not take any decision regarding the nomination of the upcoming President while House Speaker, Nabih Berri, is outside Lebanon," he concluded.

Rahi winds up his visit to Italy, returns to Beirut
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bchara Butros al-Rahi, returned to Beirut on Sunday, following a 3-day visit to Rome, where he attended a conference in Venice over peace in Europe organized by the European Parliament. Rahi gave no statement upon arrival at Beirut International Airport.

Cluster bomb found nearby a sports field in Srifa
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - A cluster bomb left behind by the Israeli occupation was found nearby a football field in the Southern town of Srifa on Sunday, whereby citizens where prohibited from approaching the vicinity awaiting the arrival of the military expert for inspection, NNA correspondent in Tyre reported.

Sukleen workers end strike
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - Sukleen workers declared on Sunday in a communiqué the end of their strike after the conclusion of an agreement with the company. The workers thanked Amal Movement for defending their cause and Labor Minister, Sejaan Azzi, for his quick intervention as well as security forces and media outlets for their cooperation.

Sandy Tabet Crowned Miss Lebanon 2016
Naharnet/October 23/16/Sandy Tabet has been crowned Miss Lebanon 2016 in a ceremony that was held Saturday evening at the Casino Du Liban and aired live on LBCI television. Marybelle Tarabay was announced first runner-up. The event was hosted by Lebanese actress and TV presenter Aimee Sayah as Lebanese pop star Wael Kfoury entertained the spectators with some of his most popular songs. In her first statement, Sandy Tabet declared that her mission will focus on helping children with autism, adding in a statement to LBCI that she hopes that the presidential vacuum in Lebanon will end as soon as possible. Tabet takes the crown from Valerie Abou Chacra.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on on October 23-24/16

U.S. Condemns Assad's 'Defiance' on Chemical Weapons Use
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 23/16/The White House on Saturday condemned the Assad regime's "defiance" of international norms after United Nations experts found the Syrian army had conducted three chemical weapons attacks against its own people in 2014 and 2015. Of the nine alleged chemical attacks it is considering in its ongoing probe, the U.N.-led joint investigative mechanism has now attributed three to the Syrian government and one to the Islamic State group. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime's defiance of the longstanding global norm against chemical weapons use and Syria's abrogation of its responsibilities under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which it joined in 2013," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. "The Syrian regime has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2118 by using industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people." He warned the United States was continuing to work with its allies to hold those responsible to account.  "We strongly urge all U.N. member states and parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, including Russia and Iran, which continue to conduct military operations on behalf of the Assad regime, to unequivocally support these efforts and sustain our shared commitment to the international standard against chemical weapons use."Washington and Moscow are in the midst of a major diplomatic spat over Russian support for the Assad regime, with relations reaching a new low not seen since the Cold War. "Russian military and economic support to Syria enables the Assad regime to continue its military campaign against its own people, which it has done in violation of international law as demonstrated by the findings of this report," Price said. "Together, we must send a strong signal that the use of weapons of mass destruction will not be tolerated by the international community."

Clashes, Artillery Fire Hit Aleppo after Truce Expires
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 23/16/Heavy clashes erupted between regime and rebel forces in Syria's divided city of Aleppo after a "humanitarian" ceasefire announced by government ally Russia expired before the U.N. could evacuate wounded civilians from rebel-held areas. Moscow had extended the unilateral "humanitarian pause" into a third day until 1600 GMT Saturday but announced no further renewal, as fierce fighting broke in several areas along the front line dividing the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. Three people were wounded by shelling of the rebel-held Salaheddin and Al-Mashhad districts, they said, adding that the first air strikes since the end of the truce hit the opposition-controlled district of Sheikh Saeed where there was also heavy fighting. An AFP correspondent in rebel-held eastern districts also reported sounds of fighting and artillery fire. Neither residents nor rebels of opposition-held districts heeded calls from Syria's army and Moscow to leave during the ceasefire, after weeks of devastating bombardment and a three-month government siege. The pause began on Thursday, and came after Moscow announced a temporary halt to the Syrian army's campaign to recapture the divided city. The army opened eight corridors for evacuations, but just a handful of people crossed through a single passage, with the others remaining deserted. "Members of popular civil committees from regime districts entered the eastern neighborhoods to try to evacuate the injured but failed," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said earlier Saturday. Syrian state media and Russian authorities have accused rebels in the east of preventing civilians from leaving and using them as "human shields."
Guarantees not received
More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded since the army launched its offensive to drive the rebels out of the eastern districts they have held since 2012. Nearly 500 people have been killed. The United Nations had hoped to use the ceasefire to evacuate seriously wounded people, and possibly deliver aid. But a U.N. official said Saturday the requisite security guarantees had not been received. "You have various parties to the conflict and those with influence and they all have to be on the same page on this and they are not," said David Swanson, a spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian office.
The U.N. had drawn up a four-day plan that was to start with two days of medical evacuations to west Aleppo, rebel-held Idlib province, and Turkey, and continue with more evacuations as well as aid deliveries.No aid has entered Aleppo since July 7 and food rations will run out by the end of the month, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday. The U.N. had asked Moscow to consider extending the pause until Monday evening.
'No third option'
Moscow accuses rebels of preventing civilians from leaving, with senior Russian military official Sergei Rudskoi accusing them of "using the ceasefire in their interests.""We are seeing them massing around Aleppo and preparing for another breakthrough into the city's western neighborhoods."Russia is a key ally of Syria's government and began a military intervention in support of President Bashar Assad last September. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview set to air Saturday that the intervention was meant to "liberate" Syria and keep Assad in power. "Either Assad is in Damascus, or al-Nusra is," he said, referring to former al-Qaida affiliate the Fateh al-Sham Front. "There is no third option here."The Observatory said earlier both rebels and regime forces appeared to be reinforcing their positions. "The regime and the rebels are both bolstering their forces, which raises fears of a massive military operation if the ceasefire fails," Abdel Rahman said. Elsewhere in Aleppo province, Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels were shelling the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces coalition in several villages. Turkey considers the Kurdish militia that leads the SDF to be a "terrorist" organization, and began an operation in Syria in August targeting both it and the Islamic State group. On Friday, a U.N. human rights council resolution called for "a comprehensive, independent special inquiry into the events in Aleppo." It also demanded that warring parties provide unrestricted humanitarian access to desperate civilians and "end immediately all bombardments and military flights over Aleppo city." On Saturday, the White House condemned the Assad regime's "defiance" of international norms after United Nations experts found the Syrian army had conducted three chemical weapons attacks against its own people in 2014 and 2015. "The Syrian regime has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and U.N. Security Council Resolution 2118 by using industrial chlorine as a weapon against its own people," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. The U.S. is working to bring those responsible to account, he added.

Pentagon chief urges ‘isolation operation’ for ISIS-held Raqa
AFP, Arbil, IraqSunday, 23 October 2016/US defence chief Ashton Carter said on Sunday that an operation to isolate the ISIS in Syria’s Raqa should begin in conjunction with the assault on the terrorists’ Iraqi bastion Mosul. “We want to see an isolation operation begin around Raqa as soon as possible,” Carter said during a visit to Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan to review an ongoing offensive to retake Mosul from IS. “We are working with our partners there (in Syria) to do that,” the US secretary of defence said, adding: “There will be some simultaneity to these two operations.”Iraqi forces launched a huge operation last week to retake Mosul, the last major city in Iraq under ISIS control. The United States leads a 60-nation coalition that has provided key support in the form of thousands of air strikes, training to Iraqi forces and advisers on the ground. The loss of Mosul would leave Raqa -- the de facto capital of the terrorists -- the only major city still under ISIS control. Carter said the idea of simultaneous operations against Mosul and Raqa “has been part of our planning for quite a while”. He also said that destroying ISIS’s external operations capabilities was “our highest priority”. “We are getting better and better and better at that. “Mosul will help us with that, even as all the other territories we have taken.”The gathering of more intelligence information would also provide “new opportunities to attack external plotters”, Carter said. In Iraq, the coalition is allied with both federal forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters in the Mosul battle.But in Syria, the issue of which ground forces would be involved in an operation to retake Raqa would be far more complicated. The United States has given support to Syrian rebels and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who have battled ISIS. But President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russia and Iran, are also fighting the terrorists.

Turkey hits ISIS in Iraq following Kurdish request
AgenciesSunday, 23 October /Turkish artillery has hit militant positions in the northern Iraqi city of Bashiqa near Mosul after Kurdish Peshmerga forces asked for support, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in televised comments Sunday. “They (Peshmerga) asked for help from our soldiers at Bashiqa base. We are providing support with artillery, tanks and howitzers, Yildirim told reporters in western Turkey. At the base, Ankara says some 700 Turkish soldiers are training Iraqi fighters to help remove ISIS from the country. Earlier, Kurdish fighters said they had taken Bashiqa from ISIS on Sunday as coalition forces pressed their offensive against the militants’ last stronghold in Iraq. A US official said Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdish Region, had informed US Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the Kurds had succeeded in liberating Bashiqa from ISIS. Kurdish peshmerga fighters told reporters at the scene they had entered Bashiqa, but journalists were not being allowed into the town. As the Pentagon chief went into talks with Barzani, US officials said Kurdish peshmerga forces had almost reached their goals in the week-old offensive. The battle plan is for the peshmerga forces to stop along a line at an average of 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside of the city of Mosul, ISIS’s last major stronghold in Iraq. “They are pretty much there,” a US military official said Saturday when Carter was holding meetings in Baghdad.
Elite federal forces are then expected to take the lead and breach into the city proper, where more than a million civilians are still believed to be living. That peshmerga line of control, mostly on the northern and eastern fronts, “will be solidified in the next day or two,” the official said. The United States leads a 60-nation coalition -- which also includes Britain and France -- that has provided key support in the form of thousands of air strikes, training to Iraqi forces and advisers on the ground. Kurdish forces are currently engaged in a huge push around the ISIS-held town of Bashiqa, northeast of Mosul. They gained significant ground on the eastern front in the first days of the offensive, which was launched on Oct. 17. In Baghdad, Carter praised the peshmerga and “the way their efforts are completely coordinated with the ISF (Iraqi security forces).” The coordination between Baghdad and Erbil, at odds over Kurdish independence and oil revenue, had been one of the key question marks ahead of the offensive. Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, commander of the US-led coalition, noted on Saturday that, while progress in the offensive was satisfactory, militant resistance was stiff. “The resistance is about as broad as expected,” he said in Baghdad. “It’s pretty significant, we are talking about enemy indirect fire, multiple IEDs (improvised explosive devices), multiple VBIED (vehicle-borne IEDs) each day, even some anti-tank guided missiles, so it’s been very tough fighting, snipers, machineguns,” he said.
US military officials have revised their estimate slightly upward for the number of ISIS fighters involved in the Mosul theater. They believe the ISIS group is defending its stronghold of Mosul, where the “caliphate" was proclaimed in June 2014, with 3,000 to 5,000 fighters inside the city and 1,000 to 2,000 spread out on the outskirts. A French government official told AFP the breach into Mosul, which could mark the beginning of a phase of fierce street battles with ISIS, could still be a month away. Iraq repels attack in Anbar. Meanwhile, an Iraqi military spokesman said troops have repelled an ISIS on a western town, describing it as a bid to divert attention from the massive military operation to retake Mosul. The spokesman for the Joint Military Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, said ISIS militants attacked Rutba, in the sprawling desert province of Anbar, early Sunday. He said at least three suicide car bombs were blown up before reaching their targets and some militants were killed. He declined to say whether any civilians or Iraqi forces were killed. He said the militants did not seize any government buildings and that the situation “is under control.”(With Reuters, AFP)

Iraq parliament in surprise vote to ban alcohol
AFP, BaghdadSunday, 23 October 2016/Iraq’s parliament on Saturday voted to ban the sale, import and production of alcohol, in a surprise move likely to anger some minorities but also to please influential religious parties. Proponents of the ban argue that it is justified by the constitution, which prohibits any law contradicting Islam. But some opponents argue that it also violates the same constitution which guarantees the traditions of religious minorities. According to an MP and a parliament official, the ban was a last-minute addition to a draft law on municipalities that caught the anti-ban camp flat-footed.
The law was also passed by MPs in Baghdad as all eyes were on the north of the country, where forces involved in Iraq’s biggest military operation in years are battling ISIS and moving to retake the city of Mosul. “A law was passed today and article 14 of that law bans the import, production and sale of all kinds of alcohol,” Yonadam Kanna, a veteran Christian MP, told AFP on Saturday. “Every violation of this law incurs a fine of 10 million to 25 million dinars (roughly $8,000 to $20,000),” he said. Kanna vowed to appeal the law in a federal court. Alcohol is rarely offered in restaurants and hotels in Iraq, but consumption is relatively widespread, especially in Baghdad where scores of small shops selling alcoholic beverages can be found. Iraq also has companies producing various types of alcohol, such as Farida beer or Asriya arak (a regional anise-flavored spirit).

Syrian army senior officer killed over alleged sexual assaults
Ahd al-Fadhel, Alarabiya.netSunday, 23 October 2016/A senior Syrian Army officer has been shot dead in his home town Tartus, according to media sources close to the Syrian regime, amid reports accusing him of sexual assaults. Pro-Assad media reported that Joulack, who leads a unit of the military cluster commanded by Colonel Suhail al-Nimir, was killed due to a personal dispute, without giving any further details. Media reports with affinity to the Syrian opposition asserted that Wassim Joulack was killed after allegations of sexual assaults. It claimed that a member of the so-called 'National Defense' - a militia group with affinity to President Bashar al-Assad - have accused Joulack of several sexual assault charges. Joulack commanded a military division known as “Tigers 6,” which was recognized for its notorious brutality resulted in the killing of thousands of civilians in Syria. (The article first appeared in the Arabic language website for Al Arabiya News Channel)

King Salman receives Swedish premier
SPASunday, 23 October 2016/Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at Yamamah palace the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden Stefan Lofven and his accompanying delegation currently on a visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The king and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sweden held a session of talks, during which they reviewed bilateral relations and ways of developing and strengthening them in addition to the prospects of cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

Saudi king receives Venezuela’s president at his palace
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 24 October 2016/Saudi King Salman has received at his palace Sunday evening Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who is currently visiting the kingdom. King Salman and Maduro held talks where they reviewed bilateral cooperation between the two countries.When Maduro arrived in Riyadh on Sunday, he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the kingdom’s deputy prime minister and interior minister. The officials discussed ways of boosting bilateral relations between the two oil-rich countries in various fields including cooperation to fight extremism. During the meeting, Saudi Crown Prince and President Maduro reviewed the latest developments in the Middle East.

Former Qatari emir dies at 83
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishSunday, 23 October 2016/The Qatari Royal Court announced on Sunday the death of the former emir Prince Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani at the age of 83. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also declared a three-day public mourning. The late emir ruled Qatar from 1972 until 1995 when his son Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the father of Qatar’s current emir Sheikh Tamim, took over. Sheikh Hamad handed power in 2013 to his son Sheikh Tamim. Qatar is small, with 2.5 million people, but is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, a global investment powerhouse and heavy hitter in Middle East diplomacy and international media. (With Reuters)

Saudi man who beheaded his parents arrested in Taif
By Khamis Al-Zahrani, Alarabiya, Makkah Sunday, 23 October 2016 /Saudi authorities have arrested a young man for beheading his parents on Sunday in an incident that has shaken the nation. The gruesome and shocking incident took place west of Saudi Arabia in Taif city’s Al-Suhaili neighborhood. Sources told Al Arabiya that the man, using a knife, had decapitated his parents after confining them inside a room in their home. So far it was not clear why the parents were killed. This is not a new occurrence, however. In June, twin brothers in Riyadh had killed their parents and stabbed a third brother .Last year, Saudi Interior Police were able to capture and arrest Saad Radi Ayash al-Anzi, who along with his brother, allegedly killed their cousin, who is a soldier, and three other people. They were both ISIS-loyalists. Fahad Al-Shukairan, a Saudi expert on radical groups, told Al Arabiya English that targeting of relatives began in the 1970s when the so-called jihadists in Afghanistan fought against the Soviet Union.

Swiss court faults employer for firing woman over headscarf
AFP, GenevaMonday, 24 October 2016/A Swiss court has ruled against a company that fired a longtime employee after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, marking one of the first such rulings in Switzerland, media reported on Sunday. A regional court in Bern ruled last month that a 29-year-old Serbian woman was fired without just cause from a dry cleaning business, and ordered the company to dish out back-pay and damages to her, the Le Matin Dimanche weekly reported. The woman, identified only as Abida, was fired in January 2015 from a job she had held for six years, after she began wearing the Muslim headscarf, it reported.
Hygiene rules
Her employer in Bern had told her the headscarf violated hygiene rules, and told her to remove it or be let go. She reportedly offered to wash her headscarf daily or wear disposable headscarves, but her employer refused. The Bern court ruled that the company had violated her constitutional right to freedom of expression, according to the paper. It said wearing a headscarf can only be grounds for termination in cases where it makes it impossible to carry out duties described in the employment contract or if it “substantially affects” the working environment. The case is one of the first of its kind in Switzerland, Le Matin Dimanche said, pointing to only one other known case dating back to 1990, when a machine manufacturer in the east of the country was also faulted for firing a woman for wearing a headscarf. The ruling was hailed by several Muslim groups. “It shouldn’t matter if a woman wears a headscarf or a man wears the Jewish kippa. At work, competence should be the criteria and not the clothes that you wear,” Onder Gunes of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Switzerland told the paper.

Houthis suppress Sana’a prison protest
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishSunday, 23 October 2016/Al Arabiya reported on Sunday that Houthi militias have begun suppressing protests in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a’s central prison - using live bullets to hold of protesters. Yesterday, mothers of the detained in Houthi controlled prisons organized a demonstration in front of UN headquarters in the capital, protesting the militias’ treatment of their sons. Previously, this month, an international rights organization has accused Houthi militias of arbitrarily detaining and forcibly disappearing dozens of people in Sana’a. The rebel group detained at least 35 people between August 2014 and October 2015, according to a report released Sunday by Human Rights Watch. HRW says in addition to political opponents, the Houthis have targeted journalists reporting for opposition outlets. “Politicians, activists, lawyers and journalists tell us they’ve never been more frightened of ending up disappeared” according to a statement from the organization.

Saudi forces respond to militias’ violations of ceasefire
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishSunday, 23 October 2016/Saudi artillery forces destroyed a number of vehicles for militias that were trying to sneak into Saudi borders opposite of al-Mawsam front. A missile fired by Houthi militias in Yemen fell in the Samtah province in Jazan, and its shrapnel struck two houses but no casualties have been reported. The militia have violated the ceasefire in Yemen since it went into effect on midnight on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Houthi militias and forces loyal to Saleh prevented a UNICEF delegation headed by the country director of UNICEF from entering Taiz to check on people’s humanitarian and health conditions. The move has been condemned as a flagrant violation of the ceasefire.

Yemeni govt supports UN call to extend truce
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News ChannelSunday, 23 October 2016/A high-level Yemeni official source told Al Arabiya News Channel on Sunday that the internationally recognized government supports the UN envoy’s call to extend the truce by 72 hours between the country’s two warring sides. The source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said while the government backs an extension for the truce, which was implemented on Thursday and ended late Saturday, the Iran-backed militias did not show any commitment. After the ending of the truce, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition has repulsed more than 1,400 violations by the militias near the kingdom’s border. Saudi forces continued to target the militia in the southern border city of Jazan after a failed infiltration. Saudi artillery forces have also destroyed a number of vehicles belonging to the militia trying to infiltrate the Saudi border near al-Mawosim. The Arab Coalition has also targeted the militias at Al-Hafta and Jabal Naqam military camps east of Sanaa and Al-Nahdain south of the capital. The coalition’s raid has also stopped military reinforcements reaching the militias from Sanaa to Maarib city. Other raids targeting the militias were conducted in other locations in Yemen, including Taiz city. Earlier, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed demanded extending the ceasefire which ends at dawn on Sunday. Prior to Ould Cheikh’s demands, commanders of the Yemeni army said they adhered to the ceasefire despite the violations committed by Houthi militias and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, and which reached around 1,000 violations. The national armed forces on Saturday thwarted an attack by the militias in Midi, north west of the country. The armed forces’ media center said the army launched a counterattack in the same area and liberated posts in the western coast in Midi.
It added that the clashes there killed 13 militia members. The militia have violated the ceasefire in Yemen since it went into effect on midnight on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Houthi militias and forces loyal to Saleh prevented a UNICEF delegation headed by the country director of UNICEF from entering Taiz to check on people’s humanitarian and health conditions. The move has been condemned as a flagrant violation of the ceasefire.

Shabaab takes Somali town after Ethiopia troop pullout
AFP, MogadishuSunday, 23 October 2016/Fighters from the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab group said on Sunday they had retaken control of a town in central Somalia after hundreds of Ethiopian troops serving with the African Union's AMISOM force withdrew. It was the third time this month that the Islamist group moved into a town in the region after the departure of Ethiopian forces. Al-Shabaab said on the smartphone app Telegram that their fighters had “stormed the town (of Halgan) soon after the enemy pulled out” on Sunday. After leaving Halgan together with Somali army soldiers, situated at a key junction on the road to the capital Mogadishu, the Ethiopian troops headed towards the provincial capital, Beledweyne, according to several sources. The Shabaab was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, five years ago but continues to carry out regular attacks on military, government and civilian targets in its battle to overthrow the internationally-backed administration. The fall of Halgan is likely to increase pressure and attacks on AMISOM forces in Buloburde, which is the second largest town in the central Hiran region. No explanation has been given by the Ethiopian military or AMISOM.
 

One Killed, Two Injured in Japan Park Blasts
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 23/16/One person was killed and at least two injured by two near-simultaneous blasts in a Japanese park on Sunday, the local fire department said. The explosions occurred at a park in Utsunomiya, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Tokyo, shortly after 11:30 am (0230 GMT), a fire department spokesman said. It was not immediately clear what caused the blasts. "One person was found dead," the fire department spokesman told AFP, without elaborating further. Public broadcaster NHK said a body badly damaged in the blast was found at a bicycle parking space for the park. "The sex and ages of the three are not known yet," another local fire department official said, adding that one blast hit the facility's car park. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily said one of the parked cars exploded and burnt down two other vehicles there. Minutes later police found a scorched, dismembered man's body inside the park, it said. A local festival was taking place there but was immediately called off following the blasts, it said. A man told NHK that he "smelled gunpowder in the area" after the explosions. NHK said the sites of the two explosions were around 200 meters apart, and police found a paper believed to be a suicide note in one of the burnt cars. The vehicle was owned by a 72-year-old former member of the Self-Defense Forces, whose house in the Utsunomiya city had been destroyed in fire shortly before the explosions hit, it said. The man could not be reached, NHK said. Explosions of this kind are rare in Japan, although small pipe bombs blasts linked to extreme leftists occasionally hit near U.S. military bases. In November last year, a homemade pipe bomb exploded at a controversial Tokyo war shrine, damaging the toilets at the facility but no one was hurt. A South Korean man was later arrested and sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to detonating the bomb at the Yasukuni shrine, which has been targeted by activists who see it as a symbol of Japan's militaristic past.

EU, Canada to Decide Monday on Trade Pact Signing Summit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/October 23/16/The European Union and Canada will decide on Monday whether to gather for a summit later this week to sign the imperiled CETA trade pact, a European source told AFP.
The source said that European Council President Donald Tusk would on Monday afternoon or evening call Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel with "one simple question: will Belgium be in a position to sign the agreement on Thursday, yes or no?"Plans to sign the CETA trade pact at a summit scheduled for Thursday were thrown into doubt Friday when the parliament of the Belgian region of Wallonia rejected the deal, leaving Belgium the only EU state unable to sign the pact, the fruit of seven years of talks. The European source said that on Monday Tusk would first call European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker "to share an assessment of where we are," then Michel and lastly Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "to decide whether to maintain the summit," and "Regarding Thursday, if Belgium is not in a position to say that they guarantee they can sign, it's very clear for Tusk that it doesn't make sense to have a summit, and there will be no summit, and there will be no date set for a new summit," the source said. The source added that any decision would be made jointly by Tusk and Trudeau. "The decision will very much depend on what Michel tells Tusk," the source said.

Oil price down cycle 'nearing end': Saudi minister
Sun 23 Oct 2016/NNA - Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said Sunday that the current down cycle of crude prices is close to an end as market fundamentals improve. "The current down cycle is nearing an end," Falih told a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak after a Gulf ministerial meeting in Riyadh. "Market fundamentals, in terms of supply and demand, have begun to improve," Falih said. "We are optimistic that oil prices will continue to improve in the future," he said. Qatar's energy minister, Mohammed al-Sada, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the OPEC oil exporting cartel, also said the "difficult phase is over". OPEC has invited Russia and key non-members to a meeting later this month as the cartel and Moscow seek to tighten cooperation to boost historically low crude prices. Oil prices currently hover around $50 per barrel after hitting a 10-year low of less than $30 in January, down from a peak of more than $100 in mid-2014. -------AFP

Iran: A look at the suicide causes - Suicide rate in some parts of the country higher than the world average
Sunday, 23 October 2016/NCRI - A man cut his wrist in front of a public office and died, a young woman sets herself on fire in Keshavarz Boulevard and another one throws herself from the top of a pedestrian bridge. These incidents are just some instances of suicide in public places which have taken place in recent weeks in Iran. In addition to these suicides in public, silent, hidden suicides should also be taken into account in order to determine the deterioration of the situation in society. According to the latest statistics provided by WHO, each day 11 people attempt suicide in Iran. According to reports, 30 percent of these attempts in Iran lead to death and the most common method for committing suicide is poisoning with drugs or toxins.
Suicide causes in Iran
“environmental, family, occupational and interpersonal stressors as well as macro economical, social, political and cultural issues affect the rate of suicide attempts while macro factors such as poverty, unemployment, discrimination and class differences may help increase the suicide rate”, says a psychiatrist on the causes of suicide in Iran. The psychiatrist adds: “different opinions have been expressed as to why people choose a specific method when attempting suicide. Issues like availability of a specific method, how lethal that method is, its prevalence and familiarity of people with it, in which the media may play a role, and sometimes the message the person intends to give with his suicide to those around him or to society, may play a role in choosing a specific method for committing suicide.”
Is suicide in public places a sign of protest against the status quo?
According to Tavakkoli, the secretary of Iran’s Psychiatrists Association, “while reflecting on the recent suicides which took place in public places, some experts believe that the suicidal person has intended to give a message to society or to speak out.” He stressed that “one of the noteworthy issues in this regard is the cultural attitude toward people who commit suicide. If someone who under the influence of various factors has attempted suicide is negatively judged and rejected, then instead of dealing with the cause we are judging and rejecting the effect and the person who is affected by those factors, the person who is affected by macro and micro factors, many of which are out of his control and while being unable to have a good long-term judgment about his life, has made such a decision.”Tavakkoli concluded that “such rejecting attitude not only is not going to help prevent and control suicide, but it makes people who have reached to this point feel embarrassed and be unable to talk about their thoughts with those around him or with experts so as to receive their help. In addition to that, suicide, at a social level, turns into a phenomenon that its existence and dimensions are being ignored or improperly recorded and as a result, it makes its way under the skin of city as an unknown phenomenon so that we will practically be deprived of the possibility of knowing it, planning for it or intervening in it.”

Working children earn 8-9 Dollars a day. Collecting 1370 street children in the past six months
Sunday, 23 October 2016 /NCRI - According to state news agency Mizan, the Deputy to the Welfare Organization’s Social Affairs have said that “in collaboration with charity institutions, we have been able to organize 1370 street and working children in the past six months.”In an interview with the Mizan news agency’s Society Group, Habibollah Masoudi Farid has said: “ in collaboration with 17 NGOs, we could identify and organize 1370 working and street children.”He added: “the NGOs have been responsible for identifying and organizing the children while the Welfare Organization has been supervising the process.”The Deputy to the Welfare Organization’s Social Affairs pointed out that 400 children have been collected from throughout Tehran since the beginning of the plan to collect street children one month ago, and added: “in collaboration with Welfare Organization we could identify and organize 400 working and street children and refer them to Welfare Organization’s day and night centers.” Masoudi Farid emphasized that 90 percent of the working and street children have families and added: “according to our studies on the status of working and street children, it was found that 90 percent of them had families and only ten percent of them, mostly among foreign nationals, were unaccompanied children. He acknowledged that “a significant number of street children in Tehran come from deprived cities and provinces like Sistan and Baluchestan.”The Deputy to the Welfare Organization’s Social Affairs stressed that “deprived families head to Tehran for beggary as the opportunities to practice beggary in Tehran are available.”In response to a question on the amount of daily income earned by street and working children, Masoudi Farid said: “according to our studies, the working and street children earn 6 to10 Dollars a day, so we can say that on average they earn between 8 to 9 Dollars a day.”He also reported on the negotiations between the Welfare Organization and Tehran municipality and pointed out that “in order to organize working and street children collected from throughout Tehran, we need to set up 20 new centers for their maintenance and in this regard we have submitted our request to Tehran municipality to provide us with such places.”

Health of 14 million Iranian in danger
Sunday, 23 October 2016/NCRI - Drought crisis has hit Iran’s most historic lake so hard that many environmentalists from different European and Asian countries who at the invitation of Rouhani’s government visited Tehran to find a possible solution, have no more any hope of getting out of it as unconventional and non-standard policies along with negligence and inaction of the officials over years have most hit a possible revival process of Lake Urmia. Along with the rejection of the Iranian regime by the international community in this regard, the state website ‘T News’ points in an article on Sunday October 16, to the dangerous aspects of salt storm in Lake Urmia region and adds: “with Lake Urmia being dried out, dust and salt storms will make their way from northwestern parts of the country towards the central parts at which time even Tehran, Ghazvin or Arak will not be safe from the dust, which is expected to put the health of 14 million people in danger.” The reality about the environmental crisis in Iran under the rule of vilayat-e-faqih is that the Mullahs’ regime has intentionally ignored the serious consequences the crisis has on people’s health, by refusing to give any kind of information or awareness in this regard. Because according to the studies of environmental scientists, any kind of dust especially salt-laden types, will always give rise to very dangerous diseases among the inhabitants in the region, among which are diseases like sinus infections, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, eye diseases, Asthma, ear, nose and throat infections and neurological diseases .The report continues by pointing to one of regime’s sample studies in the region and adds: “an experiment was carried out in 2014 to observe the effect of dust storms on school children’s health in which 88 students from East Azerbaijan province were studied.”
The results of the study shows that the drying of Lake Urmia even at its current level has endangered people’s health. 21 percent of the students in the study said that they had experienced wheezing, 14 percent had wheezing in past years, 30 percent had dry coughs, 13 percent made whistling sounds while breathing, 8 percent had whistling sounds in past years, and 10 percent reported sleeping disorders due to irritation of their respiratory system. In the meantime, 9 percent of the students suffered from respiratory tract congestion as well as restricted breathing.”
If we consider this extremely manipulated statistics by the Mullhs’ regime as a criterion for the deterioration of situation for the inhabitants of Lake Urmia region, then we will notice by rule of thumb that according to this study, 97 percent of children in the region have been plagued with irreversible respiratory and lung diseases, something which has definitely rung alarm bells for many families, specially for 14 million inhabitants of the region.

Trial of the Revealer of audio tape concerning the 1988 Massacre in Iran
Saturday, 22 October 2016/NCRI - Iran: Trial of Ahmad Montazeri without a lawyer in the Special Clerical Court on charges of “acting against national security”According to reports, Ahmad Montazeri, son of Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri (former Deputy Supreme Leader and Khomeini’s nominated successor at the time) was tried in the Special Court for Clerics (SCC) in Qom on Wednesday, October 19, for publishing an audio file of his father’s meeting with the “Death Commission” responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 in Iran.Montazeri’s family announced the news on their Telegram channel, adding that the court session was held “behind closed doors without the presence of a defense lawyer and jury.” The statement said that Ahmad Montazeri was accused of “acting against national security” and the charges were read out by Ansari-Zadeh, representative of the prosecutor.
Ahmad Montazeri has denied the charges but “on the request of the relevant authorities, it has been decided not to publish the content of the meeting until the court’s verdict is announced,” Ayatollah Montazeri’s family added. The court started at 9:00 a.m. and ended at around 13:00 in the afternoon. The Special Court for Clerics does not exist in the constitution of the Islamic Republic but the Court has been handling the cases of allegation and offenses committed by this stratum for years. The Court is accountable only to the Supreme Leader. On August 2016, Ayatollah Montazeri’s official website published an audio file of this late Ayatollah’s meeting with the member of “Death Commission” including Hossein-Ali Nayeri, Morteza Eshraghi, Ebrahim Raeisi and Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi (current Justice Minister in Rouhani’s administration) who oversaw and approved all the executions during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners after a fatwa by the regime’s then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. In this meeting, Ayatollah Montazeri describes the mass execution of political prisoners as “the greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic Republic” and tells them that they would be remembered in the future as criminals. The release of the audio file was met with widespread reactions in Iran and outside the country. Most officials and figures of the Islamic Republic from both the hardline and the reformist factions, who took a stance on this issue, defended Khomeini’s decision for the mass execution of prisoners in 1988. However, figures like Ali Motahari demanded an apology from the perpetrators of the crime. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), whose members and supporters make up most of those executed in that year, once again called for justice and the trial of the leaders of the Islamic Republic on charges of “crimes against humanity.”In addition, 100 Iranian civil society figures, academics and human rights activists living abroad in a letter to the UN Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court urged these institutions to recognize the 1988 massacre of political prisoners as “crime against humanity.”During the mass execution of political prisoners in the summer of 1988 in Iran, several thousand members and supporters of the PMOI and some other opposition groups were executed by the Iranian regime within a few months.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on on October 23-24/16

Pentagon Expects Mosul Push to Unlock Trove of ISIS Intelligence
Eric Dchmittoct/The New York Times/October 23/16
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is sending dozens of additional intelligence analysts to Iraq to pore over a trove of information that is expected to be recovered in the offensive to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State, data that could offer new clues about possible terrorist attacks in Europe.
The analysts will have several immediate priorities: Share with the Iraqi military any information crucial to the unfolding fight in Mosul; pass along insights useful to American officials planning an attack on Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in eastern Syria; hunt for clues about the location of the group’s shadowy leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; and search for any information about terrorist cells in Europe and any attacks they may be plotting. Maj. Gen. Gary J. Volesky, the commander of American ground forces in Iraq, has called Mosul the Islamic State’s Iraqi “crown jewel.” Noting that the militants had been entrenched there for more than two years, he added on Wednesday, “Clearly, there’s going to be intelligence that will be able to be exploited.”European intelligence and counterterrorism officials said they were eagerly awaiting data gleaned from computer hard drives, cellphones, recruiting files and other sources after Iraqi forces advance into the city in coming weeks. These officials fear an influx of foreign fighters fleeing the campaigns against Mosul and Raqqa. Information recovered from two earlier military operations against the Islamic State — one in eastern Syria in May 2015 and another from more recent combat in Manbij, Syria — gave American and allied officials trenchant insights into the Islamic State’s leadership structure and its financing and recruiting. Forces have also recovered detailed records of many of the 40,000 fighters from more than 120 countries who have poured into Syria and Iraq to fight for the group, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh. “If we get a phone off of a dead ISIL fighter in Manbij and it has a number of telephone numbers into a particular capital or city around the world, we share that information with the coalition members so that they can conduct their own investigation,” Brett H. McGurk, President Obama’s envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, said this month. “This is now really starting to work at light speed, although we want to speed it up.”It is unclear if Islamic State leaders in Mosul will try to destroy any of their electronic or paper records before Iraqi forces and their American advisers can seize them. The Islamic State maintains prodigious and meticulous records, and it is not known if the leaders would take such a drastic step.
Iraqi Kurdish forces detained a suspected Islamic State member while patrolling the eastern suburbs of Kirkuk on Saturday after jihadist gunmen attacked that city in a brazen raid coinciding with the Mosul offensive. Credit Marwan Ibrahim/Agence France-Presse
Data is flowing out of Iraq and Syria as information-sharing within and between European governments has steadily improved since the deadly terrorism strikes in Paris and Brussels in the past year, European counterterrorism and law enforcement officials say. “A lot has changed since the attacks in Paris,” said Johan De Becker, the police chief of the western districts of Brussels, which include Molenbeek and others that were the home of the Paris and Brussels attackers. “We have made a lot of improvements on the level of national and international signaling concerning the foreign terrorist fighters.”
American officials acknowledge that they face a daunting task in gathering, analyzing and disseminating to Iraqi and Western intelligence services a collection of information from Mosul that is expected to dwarf the 20 terabytes of data retrieved so far in Manbij. One terabyte is equal to the contents of a million books. The Pentagon’s Joint Staff and the Defense Intelligence Agency have been providing intelligence support to the Iraqis for the past two years, American officials said, but there has not yet been a fight to match the size and scope of the battle to retake Mosul, where half of the city’s previous population of two million still resides. The American-led coalition must be able to offer intelligence support in the Mosul operation to more partner forces — including the Iraqi Army, counterterrorism service and police, as well as Kurdish pesh merga fighters — than in any previous operations to retake other cities.
As a result, in the military’s most recent deployment of more than 600 additional troops, dozens of military and civilian intelligence analysts were dispatched to several locations around Iraq. Most were in place just before the Mosul offensive began, but some are still trickling in.
“Whenever you liberate a city the size of Mosul, you can expect to get a tremendous amount of information,” said Col. John L. Dorrian, the chief American military spokesman in Baghdad. “Certainly, if we have a window of opportunity that presents itself rather quickly, we do have adequate forces in theater to go ahead and act upon that.”The intelligence surge would most likely “give us a lot of insight into Daesh networks not just in Iraq and Syria, but it also gives insight into how they export terror around the world, some of the people they work with, how they finance themselves,” Colonel Dorrian said.
That is important because even as the Islamic State loses its physical caliphate, or religious state, in Iraq and Syria, the group can still inflict deadly assaults, senior American counterterrorism officials say. “It’s our judgment that ISIL’s capacity and ability today to carry out attacks in Syria and Iraq and abroad has not thus far been significantly diminished,” Nicholas J. Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told Congress last month. “The tempo of ISIL-linked terrorist attacks and terrorist activity in Europe and other places around the globe is a reminder of that global reach.”
“This external operations capability has been building and entrenching over the past two years,” he warned, “and we don’t think that battlefield or territorial losses alone will be sufficient to completely degrade the group’s terrorism capabilities.”
**Alissa J. Rubin contributed reporting from Paris.

Will Iraq’s Shia Militias Cross the Border to Syria?
Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
We will see now if Iraq’s Shia militias – the Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) – will cross Iraqi-Syrian borders, potentially from Tel Afar or close to it, under the pretext of chasing ISIL fighters fleeing Iraq in the post-Mosul situation. ISIL lost the symbolic town of Dabiq after a short battle with the Free Syrian Army and the Turkish-backed “Euphrates Shield” opposition group. ISIL pulled out its fighters from the town overnight and left a small number of its fighters to delay the opposition advance. Meanwhile, the Assad regime and its allies are making slow progress in the north-east of Aleppo. The regime forces seem to be trying to separate the north and the south parts of the east of Aleppo which is almost completely destroyed by Russian and regime planes. The objective is obviously to reach the Airport though a road that separates the two parts of east Aleppo. The “Groznization” of Aleppo may end with the regime forces controlling the rubbles of east Aleppo. Assad said October 14 that if the Syrian army’s capture Aleppo, which has come under renewed bombardment in an effort to seize its rebel-held sector, it would be “a very important springboard to pushing terrorists back to Turkey”. “You have to keep cleaning this area and to push the terrorists to Turkey, to go back to where they come from or to kill them. There’s no other option,” Assad said. Rescue workers said that Syria’s military backed by Russian warplanes had killed more than 150 people in eastern Aleppo this week, in support of its offensive against the city.
Is the Syrian President right? The true nature of the fight for the north of Syria lies beyond east Aleppo. The US, the Turks and Syrian and Iraqi Sunnis are faced now with a clear Iranian-Assad-Hezbollah plan to establish a bridge of land extending from Tel Afar to Raqqah to Aleppo. The IRGC’s plan is quite obvious since the desperate attempts to keep Assad forces in Dair Al Zour, Hasakah, to try in vain to advance to the east through Tabaqa and to take all of Aleppo. It is indeed a race with time. Assad and his Iranian allies are doing their best to make progress to connect the two areas. They are going exactly on the footsteps of ISIL but in the opposite direction.
Iraqi and Lebanese Shia militias are now loudly talking about their “responsibility” to chase ISIL to Raqqa. The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force (PMF), which some of its groups are run directly by the IRGC, are already eyeing the rout to advance from Iraq to Syria “to chase ISIL”. ISIL has been overused indeed by almost everyone to achieve different sets of objectives. This scenario may become the major center of attention in few months at most. But the fierce fight to take east Aleppo cannot be reduced to merely taking few square kilometers of rubble. In order to build this strategic belt from Iraq to Syria, the IRGC needs not only to secure the passage itself, but to clear the areas around it. This could be helped by capturing Aleppo’s airport.
This belt is crucially important in as much as it will impact all the major players: Turkey, the Kurds, the Sunni communities in both sides of the borders and the new US bases in Iraq’s Kurdistan and Kurdish-controlled areas of north east Syria. ISIL fighters may move to Syria and then melt among scores of other opposition groups. So long as the fight is interpreted in sectarian terms, ISIL will not vanish. It may change names, change coats, change leaders, and clean as much fingerprints as it can, but it will remain there, somewhere. If the Iraqi Shia militias move to Syria, the conflict will inch closer to a regional war. Sunni states, namely Turkey and Saudi Arabia, will not stand idle. The Syrian opposition will evolve into a larger entity formed on basis of pure sectarian bases with theological and jurisprudence differences suspended for a later phase. In other words the fight will move to a different fiercer and more violent phase than anything we have seen up to now. Then, it is safe to say that the Syrian President was wrong. What will be seen is simply a fight where the forces on the ground will be wilder, and where regional forces play a larger role.
Syria’s crisis is far from over. In fact, it may be just ending its early phase. For the truth is it is not a “Syrian” crisis, it has never been. It started as peaceful revolt by a people seeking democracy and evolved into a major regional battle. It is now knocking on the frightening door of a world confrontation. The next phase will witness a direct confrontation between Iran’s IRGC strategy to pierce into Iraq and Syria in order to reach the East Mediterranean and the strategy of Turkey and the Arab nations to stop the IRGC expansion west. The only way out, as we repeatedly said, is to work on a regional cohabitation plan. The US has to warn the PMF that if it crosses the Iraqi-Syrian borders, it will become a legitimate target for the coalition against terrorism. Terrorism is not exclusive to ISIL. Some of the groups of the PMF are considered by the State Department as terrorist groups. Simultaneously, the US, Russia and the EU have to come together around a plan to reach an Arab-Iranian modus vivendi and pacify the region. Each of the three parties has their regional leverage. Combined, they can indeed reach a practical equation, implementation plan and arbitration mechanisms. If this epic fight is left to its own dynamics, it will certainly threaten the whole world.

Putin’s Mideast “Pax-Russiana”: Moscow & Tehran Deploy Their Navies, Encircle the Region
Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
Russia’s defense minister said October 12 that Moscow is dispatching its flagship aircraft carrier to bolster its forces in the eastern Mediterranean off Syria. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier would be sent to join Russia’s current naval deployment there, Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a televised meeting.
“Currently the Russian naval deployment to the east Mediterranean consists of no less than six battleships and three or four support vessels. In order to bolster the military capabilities of the group we plan to add the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier to the group,” Shoigu said, without specifying a timeframe”, he said. Moscow continues to ramp up its military footprint in and around Syria. Three missile corvettes from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left their base in Sevastopol days before and will join other Russian warships in the Mediterranean off the Syrian coast. All three ships — The Serpukhov, The Zelyony Dol, and The Mirazh, are equipped with Kalibr and Malakhit cruise missiles. Furthermore, Russian troops participated in a symbolic joint military exercise in Sinai with Egypt’s army.
Parallel to Russia’s move, Iran sent several naval ships to the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s most vital shipping routes, “to protect trade vessels from piracy,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported October 12. Furthermore, Iran deployed two warships off Yemen threatening to further escalate tensions after the U.S. fired Tomahawk cruise missiles destroying three coastal radar sites in Houthi-controlled territory. Iran is funding Yemen’s Shia rebels, who have also waged a series of attacks against Saudi Arabia. Let us examine Putin’s recent steps in the Middle East and try to connect the dots. In addition to deploying more naval vessels off Syrian coast, we will see two significant developments: 1- Signing a deal with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to construct the “Turkish Stream”. 2 – Joint military exercise in Egypt’s Sinai with rising speculations about Moscow’s desire to establish a military facility on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast (denied officially by Egypt’s authorities). The Turkish Stream deal is indeed significant if measured in strategic terms. The project fits well within the framework of Moscow’s strategic plan for the Middle East. It binds Turkey to Moscow. It establishes the foundation of a future Iranian-Turkish rapprochement by luring Iran to expand its energy exports west under the auspices of Russia. It will lead to a strategic shift in the East Mediterranean alliances. And it guarantees that Iraq’s exports (at least those of the Kurdish region) will be integrated in a network supervised by Moscow.
Indeed, the essential driver of the next phase of the implementation of Russia’s regional strategy will be energy. Ironically, this was the initial mover of the US regional strategy at one point in the past. But “times are a’changing”.
Obviously, President Putin is trying, through Turkish Stream, to put obstacles on the road of expanding Europe’s Southern Gas Corridor. This Corridor is composed of TANAP (Trans Anatolian Pipeline), the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (starting in Greece and going under the Adriatic waters to Albania, then to Italy), and the South Caucasus Pipeline (from Azerbaijan to Georgia then to Turkey). This will require Russian intensive pressure on Baku. The West’s strategy to reduce Russia’s leverage west of its borders is now thinned to working hard to quickly expand Europe’s Southern Corridor. The Turkish Stream gives this one single egg-in-the basket an additional importance. It also intensifies Russia’s pressures on Azerbaijan.
Another obstacle facing Moscow’s plans is the “Ukraine sanctions” which complicate Russia’s transports to the EU. It is expected now that the Turkish Stream, if it indeed goes ahead, will be reduced in size in its first phase to transport what is needed only by Turkey. But the line will be expandable in the future. Furthermore, the EU sanctions pressure Gazprom to reduce prices to fit the conditions of Ankara. The name of the game in the Kremlin is to place Russia in a leading position in the future natural gas pipelines network going west through Turkey. This will necessitate a presence in the East Mediterranean, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. From what we see on the ground now, President Putin’s progresses fast towards accumulating effective leverage to achieve that objective. In the case of Iraq, it is only natural that the KRG exports its gas to Turkey. In the case of Iran, any breakthrough in Russia’s future exports to the EU will lead to an expansion of Iranian exports via Turkey. This will pave the road for more active Russian role in the rehabilitation and development of Iran’s energy infrastructure. Russia has the strategic appeal and the leverage in the eyes of Tehran to be invited in.
Moreover, the energy “square” composed of Egypt, Israel, Cyprus and Greece is opened to strategic understandings with Moscow. Egypt will not play an active role in this strategic game plan yet as it is engaged in an uphill fight to rebuild its economy, but at one point down the road Cairo will have its say in the progress of the East Mediterranean energy strategies. For the time being, Turkey seems the natural market for Leviathan gas of the East Mediterranean. With Russian forces on the shores of Syria, Moscow will certainly throw its shadows on any energy game plans in that region. What we see is actually a clear Russian strategy in implementation. The areas of focus are also proposed by the dynamics of this phase. Those areas are: Azerbaijan, the EU, Iran and the East Mediterranean. Putin has some significant in-roads in all those spots. Those dynamics propose as well Putin’s next step. It is now expected that Moscow will use the leverage it accumulated in the Middle East in a force-multiplier spectacle that may start in 2017. Talks between the Arabs and Iran will be scheduled once the situation in Syria settles in a semi-sustainable condition. Turkey will be enlisted as a facilitator of talks. The essential objective will be a Middle East Pax-Russiana. This “Pax-Russiana” will give Moscow’s regional energy strategy a tremendous push. In the case of the US, Washington’s next administration will find itself in a defensive trench, satisfied with the role of the spoiler, at best. In other words, with Putin-Erdogan recent breakthrough, Iran’s expanding naval presence in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea, Assad’s progress on the ground in Syria and the enhancement of Russia’s regional posture; we may be seeing a totally new page in the great game for the Middle East.

Cairo-Riyadh Tension Rising Again
Middle East Briefing/October 23/16
Egypt’s President Abdul Fatah Al Sisi sent a public message on October 16 related to Cairo-Riyadh ties, confirming that those ties are “unshakeable” and will not be affected by any misunderstanding. Furthermore, Sisi called for “better coordination” between the two countries to avoid any future tension.
However, tension between the two countries is too obvious to deny. Egypt voted in the UN Security Council in favor of a Russian resolution related to Syria that Riyadh rejected in principle. The Saudis responded by instructing Aramco to suspend shipping of refined oil products to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation starting from October. Later, Aramco denied that there is a decision to discontinue the vital monthly cargos to Egypt. It explained the decision by the need to adapt production levels to a new energy policy in the Kingdom. A high level Egyptian delegation headed to Riyadh to discuss the matter, but no sign yet was detected of a resumption of the shipments. The episode was followed by intense and unusual mutual attacks in the media of each of the two countries against the other. Riyadh’s ambassador went back to his country. It is not clear why the ambassador left Cairo. Egypt’s authorities said he returned to work on a solution to the crisis, but he may have been summoned back in protest.
Many fireworks soon surrounded the story. An Iranian marginal publication said that Iran can replace Saudi Arabia by sending discounted oil products to Egypt with easy terms of payments. Another said it can send 10 million pilgrims to Egypt annually to visit historic Shia shrines built when Egypt was ruled by the Shia Fatimid Dynasty (909 1171). And the Egyptian media tried to blow in the fire with calls to respect independence and need to respect Egypt’s sovereign decision. All the while, some Saudi commentators started in turn to count Saudi previous assistance to Cairo hinting that the financial aid was stolen. The atmosphere was poisoned by the unrestrained media attacks. The differences between Saudi Arabia and Egypt concerning the Syrian and Yemeni crises are not new. Cairo resists the rise of any Jihadist movement or Islamists in the post-Arab Spring Middle East. Riyadh looks at an Islamist group from two pragmatic perspectives: The potential impact on Iran’s incursions in the region since 2011 and the condition of refraining from global terrorism. A common ground between the two central regional powers already exists. This makes disputes between them a mainly subjective contingency-that is to say secondary and easy to solve if they both decide to discuss it and limit it to manageable differences. Furthermore, this crisis happens in a critical moment in terms of regional security. This fact should compel the two countries to brush aside any subjective views and move quickly to end the dispute and manage their differences on ground of common objectives. Both countries are too important to regional stability to allow their differences to go uncontrolled.
It is understandable that Cairo does not want to see Jihadist groups winning in Syria. This ultimately threatens the national security of Egypt and risks of planting Al Qaeda deep in the heart of the Middle East. But instead of standing against any reasonable solution in Syria, Cairo should seek a more practical approach to the crisis there. Any solution that ends with Assad remaining in power is no solution. Therefore, a different approach than that seen by Assad-Russia-Iran axis is not merely a “concession” to the Saudis, it is rather the only possible solution to really prevent radicals from gaining power in Syria.
But this problem of seeking a policy that is essentially maximalist does not surface only in Cairo; it can be detected in Saudi Arabia as well as almost all of the region’s nations.
The art of building a coalition, by its own definition, is an art of compromise. When Riyadh seeks gathering the Arab countries in one line to repel Iran’s regional expansion, it should be ready for a laborious endeavor of give and take. No country can draw a fine line and invite all parties to walk exactly on it, without one inch of deviation, even if deviation is sometimes is dictated by the partners’ own national interest. Egypt’s main concerns are currently domestic in nature. Riyadh’s concerns are mostly regional. It is not an overstatement to say that both sets of concerns are based on existential threats. None of the two countries should expect the other to give up its own concerns and move to adopt the others’. Sisi is fighting an uphill battle in a country where nothing stands right. If Sis collapses, regional security will dramatically deteriorate. His success is success to Saudia Arabia’s own agenda. Saudi Arabia is fighting an Iran that becomes more dangerous and more ambitious by the day. On this ground, the two sides should search for ways to help each other, not to confront each other. Saudi Arabia provided Egypt with some very important aid packages in very critical moments. Egypt is defending the GCC when it fights its own terrorists, Jihadists and other versions of political Islam. If any of those forces control Egypt, none of the GCC nations will be safe. It is time for a gesture from any of the two countries to end this small crisis. It is time that President Sisi visits Riyadh, or one of the Saudi principle leaders visits Cairo to mend fences. It will take only few hours of candid talks between the leadership of the two countries to end this distraction.

The battle for Mosul diverts attention away from Aleppo
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
Defeating ISIS in Mosul will be in the interest of Sunni Arabs in general as much asit will be in the interests of Iran and Shiite Arabs in Iraq. The primary victims of this terrorist group have been the Sunni peoples and governments. Eliminating ISIS has become an international imperative agreed upon by the East and the West. There is no difference over the need to achieve a decisive military victory against ISIS, rather, the task of overseeing this has been entrusted to the US in Iraq and Russia and Syria. All indications suggest the military battle for Mosul, even if it may last a while, will end with the liberation of the city from the group. Crushing ISIS in Iraq will then weaken it in neighboring Syria. The overlap of the Iraqi and Syrian battlefields will keep them linked, meaning that there will be no solution to Iraq’s security without a similar solution in Syria and vice versa. Particularly so when major regional players such as Turkey and Iran are holding their cards close in the two key Arab nations, while the Kurdish element present in both countries remains a major point of either contention, harmony, convergence, or competition for the players. The battle for Mosul may be settled militarily in weeks, but the presence of so many opposing agendas for the aftermath portends complications down the road and could end one insurgency only to start another. Therefore, warnings regarding the political conduct of the Iraqi government are linked to its performance on the battlefield, and the extent to which it would allow the Iran-backed, Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units to participate in the battle for Mosul and the possibility of using them to subdue the Sunnis in the largest Sunni city in Iraq.
In Syria’s Aleppo, another major Sunni city, there could be a pause in the bloodletting if the commitments made by the actors meeting in Lausanne last week, in talks that brought together the US, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iran – expanded to include Iraq and Egypt at Tehran’s request while excluding Britain and France at Russia’s request. According to a source close to the negotiations, the claims by Russia’s UN Envoy Vitaly Churkin regarding the approval by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of seeking to convince Syrian rebels to separate from the al-Nusra Front are accurate but not the full picture. A source said the agreement includes that Russia must work with the regime in Damascus to freeze operations in Aleppo, end the systematic killing of civilians and end sieges on opposition areas. The ministers agreed to continue their discussions and hold military meetings on the basis of the “two-way” agreement. The talks in Lausanne focused on Aleppo. The Russians want to remove the al-Nusra Front from Aleppo and proceed with the separation of rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked group. The proposals of UN Syria Envoy Staffan De Mistura were at the heart of the discussions, despite some perceiving them as naïve and stunt-like in part, especially when he volunteered to escort 900 members of the al-Nusra Front out of the city.
A source stressed the discussions did not tackle the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, essentially centering on a bargain between the two main blocs: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on one hand and Russia and Iran on the other. The source observed that De Mistura appeared closer to the Russian position, quoting him as saying there was a “significant difficulty” in implementing what was requested from Russia, and that it would be “easier” for the three other countries to implement the requests of Russia and Iran.
The Iranians were reluctant about attending the meetings in Lausanne and then put forward the condition of inviting Egypt and Iraq to the talks. Iran’s insistence on having Egypt present amid Egyptian-Russian rapprochement, and the souring of Gulf-Egyptian relations, has raised many questions. The Gulf powers were also dismayed by the exclusion of Paris and London from the meeting.
During the talks, according to the source, the Iranian FM strongly defended the Syrian regime, acting as its “mouthpiece.” When the Russians agreed to offer concessions, the Iranians neither approved nor objected. For their part, the Turks addressed Iran directly at the meeting, saying: “You have obligations too,” especially with regard to reining in Hezbollah and other militias in Syria. Iran responded by ignoring the Turkish urging and focused instead on the issue of al-Nusra in Aleppo and “terrorism.”
Exposing Russia
The battle for Mosul could divert the world’s attention away from Aleppo, which has exposed Russia. This could relieve Moscow from having to remain in the limelight and Damascus from the push for accountability. However, the influx of ISIS fighters from Iraq to Syria could render more difficult the victory being sought by Russia, Iran and the regime and allies and reinforce the possibility of them falling into a quagmire.
The battle for Mosul could divert the world’s attention away from Aleppo, which has exposed Russia. This could relieve Moscow from having to remain in the limelight and Damascus from the push for accountability. Hezbollah’s claims about the “amassment” of ISIS fighters in Syria as a result of the battle for Mosul, together with threats from Damascus of taking unspecified measures to prevent an ISIS influx from Iraq, underscores the anxiety felt regarding the aftermath of the battles for Mosul and repercussions for Raqqa and Aleppo. Furthermore, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who will most likely be part of the Mosul battle through Qassem Soleimani, could find themselves torn between the two battles for two major Sunni Arab cities.
Victory in Mosul is paramount for Iran. The unity of Shiite forces in Iraq recently suggests a strategic decision has been made to pursue Shiite rule in Sunni areas. Sunnis will have to either live with this reality or face a massacre, according to an observer who believes the battle for Mosul will inevitably subdue the Sunnis. This is exactly what Sunnis in Iraq and the Gulf fear. They see the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as the moderate face of real Iranian intentions, as one informed Gulf source put it. The source said Abadi has added “cosmetic touches” on the Shiite Popular Mobilization Units, by giving them the Iraqi flag and saying their participation in the battle will be in the rear lines. The source believes the Gulf sees Abadi as a weak man who is not able to rein in the Popular Mobilization Units run by former PM Nouri al-Maliki with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards not far behind him.
Gulf states
The participation of the Gulf states in the regional and international coalition in Mosul is not military in nature, but may be political and financial. Around 60,000 Iraqi soldiers supported by Kurdish Peshmerga forces and Popular Mobilization Units are fighting against roughly 4,000 ISIS militants. The Iraqis are supported by airstrikes led by the US, France, Italy, Germany and Iranian logistical support through the Revolutionary Guards. This military equation suggests a nearly certain victory against ISIS in Iraq, even if it takes time and has a high humanitarian cost. But Syria is a different story. It is possible the goal is to push ISIS elements into Syria to purge Iraq, or it may be a tactic to entrap them there and then go for the kill after they are significantly weakened. The only thing that enjoys full consensus from all powers is the need to defeat ISIS. But the battle in Mosul, as in Aleppo, has many layers of calculations and strategic implications, locally, regionally and internationally. The Kurds’ role in Mosul is prominent given their actual participation through the Peshmerga. There is Iranian-Turkish accord on the Kurdish question, but this has unraveled to a degree in Syria and Iraq, according to an Iraqi Kurdish source. The source cites the issue of Bashiqa as an example of Iranian-Turkish competition in Iraq. The balance of power forces these two countries into a truce at times, but into fierce competition at others, the Kurds are present in both instances. “They are likely to become the key influencer in Iraq and Syria,” according to the source, but could well become victims of their own history and disputes, becoming a plaything rather than a player, he adds. The biggest test will be Mosul.
The US vision for Mosul is that the Iraqi government must prevent the Popular Mobilization to enter the city to avoid antagonizing the Gulf. Moreover, the Kurds must prevent the Kurdistan Workers Party from taking part to avoid riling up the Turks. In Iraq, Masoud Barzani is a quasi-ally of Ankara, indicating Turkey now has a sophisticated policy compared to the past, according to the source. If Iran and its allies insist on thrusting the Popular Mobilization into Mosul, ISIS will grow fiercer and the populace will have more grievances and may even prefer ISIS’ brutality to that of the Shiite-dominated militias.
The liberation of Mosul could be an opportunity for a major Arab comeback to influence Iraq, if the Gulf countries play an important role and snatch guarantees from the US and the Iraqi government with regard to the rights of Sunnis in Iraq, away from humiliation and subjugation. ISIS has been a deadly blow to the Arab security order. Extremist sectarian Shiite forces want ISIS to represent all Sunni Arabs. All these issues require Gulf involvement in the battle for Mosul, not militarily but strategically in smart policies for what comes after victory there, to reduce extremism on both sides. Indeed, extremism is not in the interest of Arabs, Sunnis, or Shiites no matter how victory in sectarian war may be imagined to be possible.
**This article was first published in al-Hayat on Oct. 07, 2016 and translated by Karim Traboulsi.

Why has it taken so long to get child refugees to the UK?
Yara al-Wazir/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
The first group of child refugees has finally made their way from the Calais camp in France to the UK. At least 14 children have now been relocated to the UK, but this wasn’t before months of agony that they suffered in the Calais camp. The children that left leave behind around 800 additional child refugees who they undoubtedly call friends. The time these children have spent in the Calais camp ranges from months to possibly even a year – there is a serious lack of statistics and research regarding the population of Calais. However, it must be recognized that the issue of unaccompanied minors has been an ongoing discussion since at least November 2015. The questions that beg to be asked are why has it taken so long for the British government to resettle these children in the UK and what will happen to the hundreds that remain trapped in the camp?
From a legal perspective, children have two routes to reach the UK: the first is the EU’s Dublin Regulation, which reunites children if their family is already in the UK. The second is the UK government’s “Dubs Amendment” to the Immigration Act. The legal basis is there, but the legal action is clearly lacking.
The decision to relocate children during this particular period is strategic more than anything. I highly doubt that Teresa May’s government cared that winter was coming; rather the strategic timing is due to the decision to close the camp completely. With unaccompanied minors out of the camp, what happens to the 5000+ who remain will become less of a “hot story” for the media to report. Whether the government decides to relocate them to another camp nearby, or advocate their return to their home countries, the hope is that because there are no young people left in the camp, fewer people would talk about it and there would therefore be less pressure on the government to take any action. The reaction of some far-right groups in the UK to the relocation of child refugees has been nothing short of disgusting. Calls for “dental tests” and “computer recognition tests” to confirm their ages because the children don’t “look like” they’re under-18 is spit in the face of humanity. Whatever happened to compassion? Are child refugees a commodity on the adoption market but not wanted in any other situation?
The short-term approach to the hundreds of children that remain at the camp in Calais is to expedite the process of reuniting them with their families. This expedition should include both legal and emotional support to help children understand what it is that awaits them on the other side of the border. Once in the UK, these children must be integrated into the education system and receive continued mental health support.
In the long term, both the UK and France must work together to address the needs of the adult refugees that remain in the Calais camp, or in the Dunkirk camp if they are relocated there. The public outcry is dangerous: the lack of public support for the government’s decision to finally do what is fundamentally right and humane can discourage the government from expediting the process for the hundreds of children that remain. Teresa May’s government must be brave and not succumb to a few extreme views that question the age of a child and therefore their “right” to live a dignified life that is outside of a makeshift refugee camp. In the long term, both the UK and France must work together to address the needs of the adult refugees that remain in the Calais camp, or in the Dunkirk camp if they are relocated there. Age, birthplace and the political stability of a person’s home nation should not be obstacles to a human’s fundamental right to live a dignified life. The needs of the adult refugees include healthcare, support, and legal support to identify whether or not they qualify for refugee status. It is difficult to commend the efforts of the UK to relocate children this week- on the one hand, I desperately want to applaud the government for its bravery. On the other hand, I feel that the government must not be praised for doing what is fundamentally right, humane and legal. My feelings are stuck between a rock and a hard place; fortunately, this is only figurative for me. For thousands of refugees who remain in Calais, they may literally be stuck between a rock and a hard place between their second-hand tents and their quest for a dignified life.

The UN’s idea of women’s empowerment is fiction
Peter Harrison/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
What was the United Nations thinking when it decided to make the fictitious comic book superhero Wonder Woman the new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls? I am not sure it helps to add more and more voices to this debate. Nevertheless, let me explain my surprise.
I find it difficult to believe that the only suitable contender for this role is a pretend character who ran around fighting bad guys while dressed in hot pants and a low cut body-hugging top, with a plunging, cleavage-baring, neck line. And let’s not be deluded here – the costume wasn’t designed for the heroine’s ease of movement. It appeared to be tailor-made for the cheap titillation of men watching the show. There’s a multitude of women I can think of who would be perfect for this role – not least my mother. Or indeed it could be any mother who has endured sleepless nights with parenting worries while getting little in return.
And if my Mum isn’t deemed a suitable candidate, then what about Malala, Queen Rania, or Aung San Suu Kyi? They are all vastly impressive women, highly influential and more to the point – real. What about the unnamed burkini-clad women who this year stood up for the rights of every woman to wear whatever they want, reveal as much – or as little – of their body as they want – when they went onto beaches across France in defiance of a deeply prejudiced, and arguably sexist, ban on covering up?
Women of influence
And let’s not forget that throughout history there has been plentiful supply of brilliant, influential women who shaped the future of all women – I’m referring to the women in Britain during World War II who, with men waging wars, went into factories and fields to ensure that the country continued to run.
The empowerment of women should surely be represented by a real person – not a make-believe one. And her figure should be the last thing that comes to mind when we look at her . Of course there is a counter argument. When Linda Carter graced our screens in the 1970s and ‘80s as the first major female superhero, she was seen by some as a symbol of women’s liberation. She was a strong character, who was able to fight her own battles, using her own superpowers without having to rely on men and she was seen as a woman, not a girl. Many feminists at the time forgave the producers of the show for the highly revealing outfit because of her strength of character. However, moving forward four decades and in my view – not unreasonably – there is a very different view of this character. UN staffer Cass DuRant, who protested the decision to appoint the character - by holding a sign at Saturday’s UN event saying “Real Women Deserve a Real Ambassador” – told journalists the protesters “don’t think that a fictitious comic book character wearing basically what looks like a Playboy-type bunny outfit is really the right message we need to send to girls or even boys for that matter.”And I think she has a point. To me the empowerment of women should surely be represented by a real person – not a make-believe one. And her figure should be the last thing that comes to mind when we look at her. What message are we sending to young people when the only woman the UN can come up with to represent the empowerment of women isn’t even real?

From King Abdulaziz to King Salman, everyone is under the rule of law
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/October 23/16
The Saudi prince who was executed last week has been punished for his crime! The reaction to the punishment was normal - people felt the rule of law and realized that no one was above it. Saudi King Salman is known for his “law purges.” After he assumed governance, he voiced support for every citizen’s right to file a lawsuit against any official, even the king and the crown prince. This takes us back to the influence of late King Abdulaziz al-Saud in forming the character of his son, King Salman, and in teaching him about the judiciary and confirming its integrity and justice. Researcher Ibrahim al-Otaibi narrated: “In 1919, a judge in Riyadh ordered a woman to return to her husband’s house. However, she escaped and sought protection at a prince’s house. When King Abdulaziz learnt what happened, he ordered the implementation of the rule of law or he would have personally gone to the prince’s house to get the woman out of there.”After Imam Abdulrahman died in 1927, a man claimed that the imam owed him money and he demanded King Abdulaziz to pay his father’s debt. When the king demanded evidence, the man said: “Let’s go to the sheikh.” The king went with him to the house of Judge Saad bin Oteik following the dawn prayers. When the judge learned they were there to resolve a case, he did not host them inside his house but had them sit on the ground outside it. After he ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the latter left in satisfaction. Then the judge let King Abdulaziz into the house, telling him “you are my guest now.”This is Saudi Arabia. Everyone is subject to the rule of the judiciary.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Oct. 23, 2016.