Lebanese Army arrests ISIS chief Baghdadi’s wife: report
Lebanese authorities have arrested one of ISIS calif Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wives on Lebanon’s border, the local daily...
Monday, 1 December 2014
Ibrahim reportedly threatened Nusra to kill Islamist prisoners
BEIRUT: A threat reportedly made by General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas to kill two Islamist prisoners held in Lebanese jails may have saved the lives of at least two servicemen held captive by jihadists on the Syria border.
Unconfirmed media reports Tuesday said Ibrahim has sent a message to Nusra Front, threatening to kill Joumana Hmeid and Sunni preacher Omar Atrash if the extremist group executed Lebanese policeman Ali Bazzal.
Nusra Front was reported to have threatened to execute Bazzal at 10 p.m. Monday in protest at the government’s delay in implementing a reported prisoner swap deal. However, the execution did not seem to have been carried out.
Last week, Nusra threatened to execute Bazzal if Lebanese authorities did not release Hmeid, who was formally charged by Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr with providing assistance for Al-Qaeda-linked groups, after she was caught driving a car rigged with 50 kilograms of explosives on the Arsal-Labweh road last February.
Hmeid is the first woman to be accused of complicity with a terrorist organization since the spate of car bombs and suicide attacks targeted areas seen as sympathetic to Hezbollah over the past 18 months.
A state of confusion and panic prevailed Monday among the families of the 26 Lebanese soldiers and policemen held by militants, shortly after the Nusra Front threatened to execute Bazzal.
The families blocked roads in the north, the Bekaa Valley region and in Downtown Beirut. They also burned tires near the Grand Serail.
Shortly before midnight, Nusra announced Bazzal’s execution has been postponed.
Salam: We will not bow to jihadis
BRUSSELS: Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Monday Lebanon would not succumb to the will of the jihadis holding 26 Lebanese servicemen hostage as his government lobbied in Brussels to use the rest of an EU aid package to revamp its fragile infrastructure.
In the firmest remarks made since jihadis captured at least 26 servicemen in northeast Lebanon in August, Salam said the country would not accede to the will of the militants.
“The government will not bow to pressure and will not make concessions and will not allow the captors to take 4 million Lebanese hostages,” Salam said during a reception for the Lebanese community in Belgium organized by Ambassador Rami Mortada.
Salam spoke after Lebanese media circulated rumors that the Nusra Front was set to execute one of its Lebanese captives.
But it was the detrimental impact the Syrian refugee crisis has had on Lebanon’s host communities and already-weak infrastructure rather than the captured servicemen that was the main focus of Salam’s talks with officials here.
“EU and Belgian officials are entirely aware of the many burdens ensuing from the refugee crisis and the repercussions of the regional turmoil on Lebanon,” Salam told The Daily Star. “[Both] Belgian and EU officials highlighted Lebanon’s cohesion and the need to help Lebanon.”
Salam, who is the first top Arab official to meet with the new management of the EU, briefed EU commissioners – Johannes Hahn for Neighborhood Policy and Christos Stylianides for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management – on the challenges Lebanon’s host communities have endured as a result of the approximately 1.1 million Syrian refugees on Lebanese territories.
Salam also held separate talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Didier Reynders.
Salam said the goal of his two-day visit was two-fold: garnering more support for Lebanon in international circles and minimizing the fallout of the refugee crisis. “Nowadays, politics and economy go hand in hand, one cannot thrive without the other,” he added.
Economy Minister Alain Hakim, who is part of Salam’s official delegation in addition to Minister of State for Administrative Reform Nabil de Freij, told The Daily Star that the Lebanese government wanted the remainder of an EU allocation of more than 130 million euros ($164.8 million) for the years 2014-16 to be used to fund infrastructure projects across the country.Unveiled in November, the Lebanese government’s road map for assisting host communities dubbed “The Lebanon Recovery Fund” includes improving basic facilities such as area infrastructure and hospitals while also facilitating the provision of hydrocarbons, electricity and water.
“So far approximately 52 million euros have been paid,” Hakim said. “We are trying to convince EU officials to consign the rest of the allocation to fund infrastructure projects especially in host communities where it [infrastructure] has suffered the most.”
In October 2014, Hakim and former European Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule inked a memorandum of understanding for the Single Support Framework setting the priorities and financial allocations for EU-Lebanon cooperation for 2014-16. The indicative allocation for Lebanon amounts to more than 30 million euros.
At the time, officials said the focus of EU-Lebanon cooperation for 2014-16 would center on three priority sectors: justice and security system reform; social cohesion, sustainable economic development and vulnerable groups; and sustainable and transparent management of energy and natural resources.
With the new EU appointments, Lebanon is hoping, according to Hakim, that the EU would revisit its fiscal policies regarding the country.
“The new Neighborhood Policy commissioner will most likely revise and reconsider the standing policies vis-a-vis countries in their neighborhood and the budgets allocated to those countries,” the economy minister said.
Hakim said his ministry would like to further discuss with the new commissioner Hahn, Lebanon’s allocations. “We [Economy Ministry] will be coming back here very soon for that purpose,” he added.
Hakim noted that the Lebanese government was also looking to come up with a “unified vision” with the EU over aid packages and coming up with a working framework so that aid would be earmarked through specialized funds like the Lebanon Recovery Fund and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Lebanon, which is overseen by the World Bank. “Those funds obey the strictest rules of transparency and accountability,” Hakim said.
Salam is expected to hold key talks in Brussels Tuesday with the new President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini.
“The meeting with Mr. Juncker and Mrs. Mogherini is an essential part of the visit,” Salam told reporters. “We put high hopes on the new EU administration and hope that Lebanon will become a priority.”
The Lebanese prime minister is expected to hold a news conference following talks with the top EU officials. He will then head to the European Parliament to attend a session of the Foreign Affairs committee and will wrap up his official visit to Belgium with a meeting with EP President Martin Schulz.
While noting the “critical situation” in Lebanon and the region, Salam called for international support to be extended to the Lebanese Army and security forces dealing with terrorism.
Salam expressed hope to his Belgian counterpart Michel that Lebanon and Belgium “will find new methods of military cooperation” and achieve “new means of ... developing bilateral relations.”
Kaag takes up U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon post
UNITED NATIONS: The head of the U.N. mission to rid Syria of chemical weapons, Sigrid Kaag, is taking up a new post as U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, a spokesman said Monday.
Kaag will succeed British diplomat Derek Plumbly, who has served in the post since 2012.
For the past year, Kaag has led a U.N. effort to scrap Syria’s chemical stockpiles under a deal reached between Russia and the U.S.
Work on destroying Syria’s last remaining chemical arms production facilities should be completed by mid-2015, the 53-year-old Kaag told the Security Council last month.
The Dutch diplomat will head up U.N. operations in Lebanon.
A graduate in Middle Eastern studies, Kaag has served as assistant secretary-general at the U.N. Development Program and as UNICEF’s Middle East director in Jordan.
“She brings with her a wealth of experience in political, humanitarian and development affairs alongside her diplomatic service, including in the Middle East,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Separately, Plumbly underscored Monday the key role women can play in peace building and in bringing war-torn communities back together for a better future free from violence.
“Women experience conflict differently from men, and women have a vital role to play in ending conflict,” Plumbly said in Tyre, addressing women from southern Lebanese villages on Open Day on Women, Peace and Security, according to a statement from his office.
Stressing that Lebanon has one of the lowest rates of female representation in any parliament and government in the world, Plumbly said the U.N. wants Lebanese women to share their views on what can be done to advance their participation in peace building, prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.
“These are the terms of Security Council Resolution 1325, and must not just be words on paper but together we must turn them into meaningful action,” Plumbly said.
“Gender equality is not just a women’s issue but a human rights issue, and men must be partners in gaining equal rights for women and preventing the abuses that women face.”
Abu Faour orders closure of chicken farm
BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour asked authorities Monday to shut down a chicken farm temporarily for health violations and referred a report citing contaminated dairy products at a Bekaa Valley factory to the judiciary. Abu Faour sent a letter to Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, asking the ministry to shut down the Tanmiah factory for two weeks until the company carried out measures needed to meet the required standards.
The request came after a Health Ministry unit inspected the company in the Bekaa Valley last week and reported that the factory violated hygiene and health standards.
The unit relayed a verbal warning to the firm, which failed to comply, according to Abu Faour’s statement.
Abu Faour has said the factory, which produces meat and chicken items and is famous for its cold cuts, had been purposely advancing production dates printed on its products by three months, deceiving consumers into thinking they are fresh.
The minister also referred to State Prosecutor Samir Hamoud the results of an inspection into Taanayel Center, a dairy factory in the Bekaa.
The report indicated that the factory contained contaminated and expired cheese, yogurt and yeast.
Abu Faour asked that the report be used by the prosecutor to follow up on the case and launch a probe to prevent future breaches.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Dbayyeh’s water station, Energy and Water Minister Arthur Nazarian reassured residents of Beirut, its suburbs and Mount Lebanon that potable water met health specifications.
He said the same applied to potable water sold by licensed firms.
“We at the ministry are not responsible for the unlicensed companies distributing water,” he said. “Today, we have inspected the work of laboratories in Dbayyeh’s [water] station, which is equipped with the latest technology to examine water and ensure it isn’t contaminated.”
His visit came in light of media reports that potable water channeled to Beirut’s households was polluted, and after Abu Faour revealed in mid-November that drinking water sold by unlicensed water companies contained traces of sewage.
During his tour, Nazarian highlighted the importance of establishing water dams like the Bisri, Janna and Qismani to collect water for storage.
“As there is a need for factories in the energy sector to reserve power, there’s a need for dams to save rainwater,” he said.
After touring the water stations in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Nazarian checked the water-treatment plants and reservoirs in Dbayyeh, Dayshounieh and Tallet al-Khayat.
“The [water authority] is establishing new reservoirs to gather water and is constantly examining old and new wells for quality control,” he said.
Although toward the end of last summer samples taken from wells contained high levels of salt due to the dry weather, Nazarian said the precipitation and snowfall expected this winter would dilute sodium levels.
Nusra execution threat leaves hostages’ families in panic
BEIRUT: A state of confusion and panic prevailed Monday among the families of the 26 Lebanese soldiers and policemen held by militants, shortly after the Nusra Front threatened to execute one of the captives.
The Nusra Front was reported to have threatened to execute soldier Ali Bazzal at 10 p.m. Monday in protest at the government’s delay in implementing a reported prisoner swap deal. However, the execution threat had not been carried out as The Daily Star went to press early Tuesday.
To protest the government’s failure to act over the execution threat, the hostages’ families blocked roads in the north, the Bekaa Valley region and in Downtown Beirut.
They also burned tires near the Grand Serail.
“The threat is still on, and the government has done nothing to eliminate it,” Hussein Youssef, the father of captive soldier Mohammad Youssef, told The Daily Star by phone.
Youssef said that Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, an influential sheikh and unofficial negotiator, told the wife of Bazzal, Rana Fliti, that he could not give the kidnappers what they want to refrain killing Bazzal.
“It seems that we are still at the starting point,” Youssef said, adding that attempts to reach government officials were unsuccessful.
“We are trying to contact officials for new information but they are not responding,” he said. “Minister Wael Abu Faour, whose information is always transparent, said the talks with the kidnappers are ongoing to ensure they commit no executions before reaching a swap deal.”
The Lebanese government has been following up on the issue through a crisis cell that includes top security officials and ministers. The negotiations have been carried out through a Qatari-appointed Syrian mediator. The kidnappers are demanding the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanese and Syrian jails
Ministerial sources said the Cabinet has not taken any decision on whether to enter into direct negotiations with the militants.
A ministerial crisis cell tasked with the hostage issue can take the measures it deems fit to secure the release of the captive soldiers, the sources told The Daily Star.
The sources said they did not expect a breakthrough in the hostage crisis soon in view of the complications and uncertainty of the kidnappers’ demands.
MP Walid Jumblatt called for a quick solution to the hostage crisis through a swap deal with the kidnappers. “I hope there will be no objection to my statement. Whoever is the negotiator, no problem. What matters is the negotiations, a swap and the lives of the kidnapped soldiers,” Jumblatt said on Twitter Monday night.
Earlier Monday, Hujeiri warned that the Nusra Front could carry out the execution of Bazzal within hours.
“An escalation will happen in hours, not days or weeks,” Hujeiri, who hails from the Bekaa town of Arsal, told The Daily Star by phone. He claimed that a violation of the agreement that delayed the execution of Bazzal would prompt the militants to go through with the killing.
According to the sheikh, in an agreement brokered with the Nusra Front Friday, the Lebanese government was set to carry out its first swap deal in return for one of the captives that should have been released Monday.
Hujeiri said he had started negotiations with the Nusra Front on Skype Thursday, moments after they released a threat to execute Bazzal unless a female terror suspect was released from a Lebanese jail.
The negotiations, which went on till past midnight Friday, resulted in a decision to hold off the execution on the condition that a swap deal would be carried out within days, Hujeiri said.
Even though the government has accepted the principle of a swap deal, a delay in its implementation has left the captors frustrated.
“How do I benefit from an acceptance of the principle if there is no actual implementation?” Hujeiri asked.
He said Ahmad al-Khatib, a Syrian mediator appointed by Qatar, was not currently on the outskirts of Arsal, criticizing him for “neglecting” the case.
“I want the Qatari mediator to be beside me when the crisis is happening. I don’t want him to show up after the crisis is resolved and everything is agreed upon,” Hujeiri said.
In response to the threat to kill Bazzal, a group calling itself “The Bazzal Family Youth” threatened to target residents of Arsal and Syrian refugees if the soldier was executed.
“We will not refrain from taking revenge if Ali Bazzal is harmed. Be sure that we will not show mercy with any elderly, woman, man or child from Arsal or with any Syrian,” the group said in a statement. “Don’t say they are not involved.”
“We will not show mercy, eye-for- eye and tooth-for-tooth,” the group said. The group also said Hujeiri would be held responsible if Bazzal was harmed.
Nusra execution threat leaves hostages’ families in panic
BEIRUT: A state of confusion and panic prevailed Monday among the families of the 26 Lebanese soldiers and policemen held by militants, shortly after the Nusra Front threatened to execute one of the captives.
The Nusra Front was reported to have threatened to execute soldier Ali Bazzal at 10 p.m. Monday in protest at the government’s delay in implementing a reported prisoner swap deal. However, the execution threat had not been carried out as The Daily Star went to press early Tuesday.
To protest the government’s failure to act over the execution threat, the hostages’ families blocked roads in the north, the Bekaa Valley region and in Downtown Beirut.
They also burned tires near the Grand Serail.
“The threat is still on, and the government has done nothing to eliminate it,” Hussein Youssef, the father of captive soldier Mohammad Youssef, told The Daily Star by phone.
Youssef said that Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, an influential sheikh and unofficial negotiator, told the wife of Bazzal, Rana Fliti, that he could not give the kidnappers what they want to refrain killing Bazzal.
“It seems that we are still at the starting point,” Youssef said, adding that attempts to reach government officials were unsuccessful.
“We are trying to contact officials for new information but they are not responding,” he said. “Minister Wael Abu Faour, whose information is always transparent, said the talks with the kidnappers are ongoing to ensure they commit no executions before reaching a swap deal.”
The Lebanese government has been following up on the issue through a crisis cell that includes top security officials and ministers. The negotiations have been carried out through a Qatari-appointed Syrian mediator. The kidnappers are demanding the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanese and Syrian jails
Ministerial sources said the Cabinet has not taken any decision on whether to enter into direct negotiations with the militants.
A ministerial crisis cell tasked with the hostage issue can take the measures it deems fit to secure the release of the captive soldiers, the sources told The Daily Star.
The sources said they did not expect a breakthrough in the hostage crisis soon in view of the complications and uncertainty of the kidnappers’ demands.
MP Walid Jumblatt called for a quick solution to the hostage crisis through a swap deal with the kidnappers. “I hope there will be no objection to my statement. Whoever is the negotiator, no problem. What matters is the negotiations, a swap and the lives of the kidnapped soldiers,” Jumblatt said on Twitter Monday night.
Earlier Monday, Hujeiri warned that the Nusra Front could carry out the execution of Bazzal within hours.
“An escalation will happen in hours, not days or weeks,” Hujeiri, who hails from the Bekaa town of Arsal, told The Daily Star by phone. He claimed that a violation of the agreement that delayed the execution of Bazzal would prompt the militants to go through with the killing.
According to the sheikh, in an agreement brokered with the Nusra Front Friday, the Lebanese government was set to carry out its first swap deal in return for one of the captives that should have been released Monday.
Hujeiri said he had started negotiations with the Nusra Front on Skype Thursday, moments after they released a threat to execute Bazzal unless a female terror suspect was released from a Lebanese jail.
The negotiations, which went on till past midnight Friday, resulted in a decision to hold off the execution on the condition that a swap deal would be carried out within days, Hujeiri said.
Even though the government has accepted the principle of a swap deal, a delay in its implementation has left the captors frustrated.
“How do I benefit from an acceptance of the principle if there is no actual implementation?” Hujeiri asked.
He said Ahmad al-Khatib, a Syrian mediator appointed by Qatar, was not currently on the outskirts of Arsal, criticizing him for “neglecting” the case.
“I want the Qatari mediator to be beside me when the crisis is happening. I don’t want him to show up after the crisis is resolved and everything is agreed upon,” Hujeiri said.
In response to the threat to kill Bazzal, a group calling itself “The Bazzal Family Youth” threatened to target residents of Arsal and Syrian refugees if the soldier was executed.
“We will not refrain from taking revenge if Ali Bazzal is harmed. Be sure that we will not show mercy with any elderly, woman, man or child from Arsal or with any Syrian,” the group said in a statement. “Don’t say they are not involved.”
“We will not show mercy, eye-for- eye and tooth-for-tooth,” the group said. The group also said Hujeiri would be held responsible if Bazzal was harmed.
Dialogue efforts hasten as Nader Hariri returns
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri is waiting for agenda proposals from Hezbollah and the Future Movement to set a final date for starting a dialogue between the two rival parties, sources following up the dialogue process said Monday.
In a development signaling an acceleration of dialogue efforts, Nader Hariri, chief of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s staff, returned to Beirut Monday from Paris after consultations with the head of the Future Movement on topics to be discussed with Hezbollah.
Nader Hariri and Future MP Jamal Jarrah will represent the Future Movement in the dialogue, while Hezbollah will be represented by Hussein Khalil, a political aide to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah and a party lawmaker, probably MP Hassan Fadlallah.
“The two sides have shown positive readiness for dialogue. Each side is preparing its own list of priorities and topics to be discussed during the dialogue sessions,” a source familiar with the dialogue process told The Daily Star.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, expected the first round of talks between the Future Movement and Hezbollah to be held in the middle of this month at Berri’s residence in Ain al-Tineh.
MP Ayoub Humayed, from Berri’s parliamentary bloc, said he saw a good chance of success for the planned dialogue, since Hezbollah and the Future Movement had agreed to exclude contentious issues from the agenda of their talks.
“Efforts are ongoing to launch this dialogue without preconditions. Holding dialogue is a positive development in itself. One of the main goals of this dialogue is to reduce sectarian tensions and address issues that concern the people,” Humayed told The Daily Star.
Relations between the Future Movement and Hezbollah have been strained by the Shiite party’s military intervention in Syria, its arsenal and its rejection of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. These three key divisive issues are not on the dialogue agenda.
Future MP Ammar Houri sounded optimistic about the launch of dialogue between his party and Hezbollah, and the two sides are preparing their proposals for the agenda.
“Matters are headed toward the launch of the dialogue soon,” Houri told The Daily Star.
Asked about his expectations from this long-awaited dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, which is deemed crucial for reducing Sunni-Shiite tensions, he said: “[Former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri has outlined the mission of the dialogue: first, the presidential election, second, defusing Sunni-Shiite tensions and third, a new electoral law.”
Hariri said in a TV interview last week that he was ready for a serious dialogue with Hezbollah with the aim of defusing Sunni-Shiite tensions. He also said he was ready to discuss the presidency issue with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said Berri held the key to setting a final date for the Hezbollah-Future talks. “We have to move on in a positive way toward the expected dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah,” Fayyad said.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam, currently on a visit to Brussels, expressed hope that the Future-Hezbollah talks would be in Lebanon’s interest.
“Dialogue is useful for Lebanon,” Salam told reporters on the plane that flew him to Brussels. “Everyone acknowledges that problems can be solved through dialogue, which is essential among the political parties because the absence of dialogue leads to many problems.
“It is certain that the dialogue will include in-depth discussion on the issue of the presidential and parliamentary elections and matters that can bring Lebanon back to the right path toward further security.”
The Kataeb Party welcomed the planned Future-Hezbollah talks, saying an inter-Lebanese dialogue would nullify the need to search for a regional or external agreement to break the presidential deadlock.
“A possible direct dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah is a stabilizing factor following the recent clashes in the north region,” the party said in a statement following its weekly meeting. “It is a prelude to a comprehensive national dialogue, for which the Kataeb command has previously called.”
Around 3,750 HIV/AIDS cases in Lebanon
BEIRUT: Lebanon has roughly 3,750 patients with HIV/AIDS, new figures released Monday by health officials show, in a rare detailed glimpse into the disease in the country.
“As we support those who live with HIV and who need treatment, we consider them a fundamental element in our success and their responsiveness to treatment is evidence of this success,” said Mustafa al-Naqib, the head of the Health Ministry’s National Program to Combat HIV, at a news conference marking World AIDS day.
Naqib said the projected figures for the actual number of HIV/AIDS patients in Lebanon was around 3,750, with many deciding not to report the illness due to fears of stigma and discrimination.
AIDS is stigmatized in Arab countries due to sensitivities about extra-marital relations. Also, many of those who contract the disease in Lebanon do so in the course of homosexual relations, which are also taboo.
For instance, virtually no AIDS-linked deaths have been reported in Lebanon despite the fact that over 1,700 individuals have reported being infected with HIV since the government began tracking the illness in the 1990s.
Medical advances have allowed the use of “antiretroviral” drug cocktails to manage the spread of HIV in the body, making a lethal illness into a chronic, manageable one and limiting infections.
“People with HIV can live healthy, productive lives,” said Gabriele Riedner, the World Health Organization’s deputy representative for Lebanon, who is involved in HIV/AIDS work in the region.
There were 109 new reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Lebanon in 2014, bringing the total number of cases recorded by the Health Ministry since it began tracking its prevalence to 1,780.
Naqib offered a fascinating glimpse into the disease in Lebanon. The country’s patients are hugely skewed compared to the rest of the world in terms of gender, with nearly 92 percent of all recorded patients in the country being men. Experts said the low infection rates among women could help limit the spread of the disease since it means fewer children are born with it.
The largest age group with the illness is the 15- to 29-year-olds with 26.1 percent, followed by those aged 30 to 49 at 25.7 percent.
Not all patients who are recorded as having the illness have reported how they contracted it, leading to gaps in the data. For instance, nearly 70 percent say they contracted the illness through sexual intercourse, while 30 percent declined to say.
In addition, just over one-third of patients report contracting the illness after homosexual intercourse, followed by 23 percent heterosexual. But nearly 39 percent did not specify the type of sexual activity they engaged in, which Naqib also said is likely due to the stigma attached to homosexuality in Lebanon.
In Lebanon, the Health Ministry began covering expense of treatments for patients in 1997, and now provides an antiretroviral cocktail of three drugs to patients as well as offering free tests to identify infections.
The ministry has also opened a medical distribution center in Karantina that is providing drug treatments to patients as well as special IDs for patients to protect their privacy.
New AIDS cases in Lebanon have plateaued for years. In 2009, there were 81 new cases, 93 in 2010, 109 in 2011, 97 in 2012 and 119 in 2013.
Moreover, Health Ministry treatment centers have so far provided medication to 764 patients with HIV, with 114 of those taking up new medication in 2014. Officials said they’ve also trained 550 health workers and opened 70 new centers with voluntary testing facilities for individuals to test if they have HIV.
The main challenge facing AIDS patients, in addition to stigma and discrimination, is that many find themselves unable to pay for regular follow-up tests that are not covered by the ministry like the CD4 test that measures how advanced the illness is in an individual.
But health officials were generally upbeat about efforts to treat the disease in Lebanon, which is one of the few countries in the region where the government is required by law to offer treatment to all residents who are AIDS patients rather than deporting foreigners who carry the disease.
The treatment was extended to Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon registered with UNRWA, and lately to Syrian refugees fleeing the crisis at home through a grant by the WHO.
The officials said AIDS treatment efforts available in Lebanon allow patients to live a normal and productive life, with antiretroviral drugs that are easier and cheaper to obtain, improving the health of patients and allowing their immune systems to survive infections while reducing the presence of the virus in the body.
“We can say confidently that AIDS patients in Lebanon are receiving the appropriate treatment,” said Abdul Rahman al-Barzi, an expert on infectious diseases and the representative of civil society at the news conference.
Imad Kanawati, a specialist with Dar al-Fatwa who attended the news conference, said religious leaders had a role to encourage prevention and family values that could limit extramarital affairs and, through that, the risk of spreading AIDS.
But he said religious communities should show compassion to AIDS victims and not ostracize them from the community.
Around 3,750 HIV/AIDS cases in Lebanon
BEIRUT: Lebanon has roughly 3,750 patients with HIV/AIDS, new figures released Monday by health officials show, in a rare detailed glimpse into the disease in the country.
“As we support those who live with HIV and who need treatment, we consider them a fundamental element in our success and their responsiveness to treatment is evidence of this success,” said Mustafa al-Naqib, the head of the Health Ministry’s National Program to Combat HIV, at a news conference marking World AIDS day.
Naqib said the projected figures for the actual number of HIV/AIDS patients in Lebanon was around 3,750, with many deciding not to report the illness due to fears of stigma and discrimination.
AIDS is stigmatized in Arab countries due to sensitivities about extra-marital relations. Also, many of those who contract the disease in Lebanon do so in the course of homosexual relations, which are also taboo.
For instance, virtually no AIDS-linked deaths have been reported in Lebanon despite the fact that over 1,700 individuals have reported being infected with HIV since the government began tracking the illness in the 1990s.
Medical advances have allowed the use of “antiretroviral” drug cocktails to manage the spread of HIV in the body, making a lethal illness into a chronic, manageable one and limiting infections.
“People with HIV can live healthy, productive lives,” said Gabriele Riedner, the World Health Organization’s deputy representative for Lebanon, who is involved in HIV/AIDS work in the region.
There were 109 new reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Lebanon in 2014, bringing the total number of cases recorded by the Health Ministry since it began tracking its prevalence to 1,780.
Naqib offered a fascinating glimpse into the disease in Lebanon. The country’s patients are hugely skewed compared to the rest of the world in terms of gender, with nearly 92 percent of all recorded patients in the country being men. Experts said the low infection rates among women could help limit the spread of the disease since it means fewer children are born with it.
The largest age group with the illness is the 15- to 29-year-olds with 26.1 percent, followed by those aged 30 to 49 at 25.7 percent.
Not all patients who are recorded as having the illness have reported how they contracted it, leading to gaps in the data. For instance, nearly 70 percent say they contracted the illness through sexual intercourse, while 30 percent declined to say.
In addition, just over one-third of patients report contracting the illness after homosexual intercourse, followed by 23 percent heterosexual. But nearly 39 percent did not specify the type of sexual activity they engaged in, which Naqib also said is likely due to the stigma attached to homosexuality in Lebanon.
In Lebanon, the Health Ministry began covering expense of treatments for patients in 1997, and now provides an antiretroviral cocktail of three drugs to patients as well as offering free tests to identify infections.
The ministry has also opened a medical distribution center in Karantina that is providing drug treatments to patients as well as special IDs for patients to protect their privacy.
New AIDS cases in Lebanon have plateaued for years. In 2009, there were 81 new cases, 93 in 2010, 109 in 2011, 97 in 2012 and 119 in 2013.
Moreover, Health Ministry treatment centers have so far provided medication to 764 patients with HIV, with 114 of those taking up new medication in 2014. Officials said they’ve also trained 550 health workers and opened 70 new centers with voluntary testing facilities for individuals to test if they have HIV.
The main challenge facing AIDS patients, in addition to stigma and discrimination, is that many find themselves unable to pay for regular follow-up tests that are not covered by the ministry like the CD4 test that measures how advanced the illness is in an individual.
But health officials were generally upbeat about efforts to treat the disease in Lebanon, which is one of the few countries in the region where the government is required by law to offer treatment to all residents who are AIDS patients rather than deporting foreigners who carry the disease.
The treatment was extended to Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon registered with UNRWA, and lately to Syrian refugees fleeing the crisis at home through a grant by the WHO.
The officials said AIDS treatment efforts available in Lebanon allow patients to live a normal and productive life, with antiretroviral drugs that are easier and cheaper to obtain, improving the health of patients and allowing their immune systems to survive infections while reducing the presence of the virus in the body.
“We can say confidently that AIDS patients in Lebanon are receiving the appropriate treatment,” said Abdul Rahman al-Barzi, an expert on infectious diseases and the representative of civil society at the news conference.
Imad Kanawati, a specialist with Dar al-Fatwa who attended the news conference, said religious leaders had a role to encourage prevention and family values that could limit extramarital affairs and, through that, the risk of spreading AIDS.
But he said religious communities should show compassion to AIDS victims and not ostracize them from the community.
Sigrid Kaag to replace Plumbly as UN envoy to Lebanon
UN: More than 1,200 Iraqis killed in November
The United Nations says that more than 1,200 Iraqis were killed in November by acts of terrorism and violence.
Dialogue 'could' start this month: Hezbollah MP
Kataeb backs Future-Hezbollah dialogue
The Kataeb Party gave its approval Monday of the awaited dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, saying it...
Kataeb backs Future-Hezbollah dialogue
Aoun vows to stand his ground in presidency bid
MP Michel Aoun vowed Friday to keep pushing for the presidential seat, defying former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s...
Iranian official in Lebanon: Don't lose sight of Israel
Concerned Kerry joins troubled Iran talks
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined troubled Iran nuclear talks in Vienna Thursday, four days before a looming...
Lebanon health minister seeks temporarily closure of chicken farm
Intervention averts execution of soldier
The execution of a captive soldier being held on the Syrian border was averted Friday after General Security chief...
Lebanon arrests man for prostituting 14-year-old wife
BEIRUT: Internal Security Forces have arrested a Syrian man and his teenage wife over a prostitution ring in the Metn region, the security agency said Monday.
In a statement, police said they received a tip about a prostitution ring run by a man who prostituted his teenage wife and other women in Jounieh and Tabarja.
Investigations into the case led to the arrest of a 36-year-old Syrian man, a 14-year-old Syria girl, as well as two Iraqi sisters aged 19 and 31.
The group was arrested on Nov. 29.
The man confessed to prostituting his wife and the two Iraqi women. The Iraqis also confessed to prostitution even without direction from the man, the statement claimed.
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Lebanon media watchdog slams detention release policy
BEIRUT: The Maharat Foundation, a media watchdog, slammed Monday a policy that forces detained bloggers and Internet activists to sign a “promise of silence” before being releases, saying such documents violated freedom of speech.
Bloggers who are detained after a government official or a company file a complaint over comments on social media are forced by the Internal Security Forces’ Cyber Crimes Bureau to sign a document vowing never to verbally attack the complainant.
“They tell the activists: sign it and you will be released. These are void promises because they are violating basic human rights,” legal counsel for Maharat, Tony Mikhael, told The Daily Star.
He gave several examples of bloggers and social media users who signed the document including Kareem Hawa, the Lebanese activist who was detained last month for sharing a news story that carried comments criticizing the Interior Ministry.
The lawyer said Hawa was released after approving the document and that the 21-year-old said that he would not dare speak about anyone else, fearing detention.
Mikhael said such a practice was only common for cases such as rival neighbors that would have the two sides sign a document never to attack each other for the sake of public peace.
Although the public prosecutor’s office oversees such a process, Mikhael said the judiciary did not have the right to “issue a verdict to restrict me from the right of free speech.”
Failure to abide by the affidavit would lead to detention. A blogger who signed the document in which she vowed to refrain from attacking a company was arrested months later after the same company complained that the blog post was still up and she was making additional comments under it.
The Lebanese penal code criminalizes slander, libel and defamation. Sentences can be between two months and two years in prison, a fine, or both.
The group asked Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to intervene to ask the public prosecutor’s office to refrain from using such documents for cases that involve publications, speech, or exchange information on the Internet.
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Lebanese hostage families burn tires outside Grand Serail
BEIRUT: The families of Lebanon's captive soldiers and policemen burned tires outside the Grand Serail Monday to alarm the Lebanese authorities to the kidnappers’ ongoing threat to kill one of their sons.
“The threat is still on, and the government has done nothing to eliminate it,” Hussein Youssef, the father of captive soldier Mohammad Youssef, told The Daily Star in reference to Friday’s threat by the Nusra Front to kill soldier Ali Bazzal.
After General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim negotiated with Nusra through mediators, the kidnappers accepted to stop the execution. Nusra confirmed in a statement Saturday that the execution was on hold.
However, the statement only stated a “delay,” and not a cancelation of the killing, which has kept the families anxious about losing any of their sons.
At least 26 soldiers and policemen are still being held by Nusra and ISIS on the outskirts of Arsal, on Lebanon’s northeastern border.
Youssef said in the phone interview that Arsal’s Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri told the wife of Bazzal, Rana Fliti, on Monday that he could not give the kidnappers what they want for them to keep their promise.
“It seems that we are still at the starting point,” Youssef said, stressing that the attempts to reach government officials have been faced by rejection.
“We are trying to contact officials for new information but they are not responding,” he said. “Minister Wael Abu Faour, whose information is always transparent, says the talks with the kidnappers are ongoing to ensure they commit no executions before reaching a swap deal.”
The Lebanese government has been following up on the matter through the crisis cell that includes top security officials and ministers. The negotiations have been carried out through a Qatari-appointed Syrian mediator.
The kidnappers are demanding the release of Islamist prisoners in Lebanese and Syrian jails.
UN's Lebanon envoy says women vital for peace
BEIRUT: U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly underscored Monday the key role women can play in peace-building and in bringing war-torn communities back together for a better future free from violence.
“Women experience conflict differently from men, and women have a vital role to play in ending conflict,” Plumbly said in Tyre, addressing women from southern Lebanese villages on Open Day on Women, Peace and Security, according to a statement.
Stressing that Lebanon has one of the lowest rates of female representation in any parliament and government in the world, Plumbly said the U.N. wants Lebanese women to share their views on what can be done to advance their participation in peace-building, prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.
“These are the terms of Security Council resolution 1325, and must not just be words on paper but together we must turn them into meaningful action,” Plumbly said.
“Gender equality is not just a women’s issue but a human rights issue, and men must be partners in gaining equal rights for women and preventing the abuses that women face,” Plumbly added.
Women in Lebanon are insufficiently represented in municipal councils, in the courts, in law enforcement, in the army and in other institutions of the state, and they rarely rise to leadership positions.
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Three Steps to Help Protect Your Personal Information on Cyber Monday
The Internet is part of everyone’s life, every day. We use the Internet at work, at home, to connect with those close to us, and to buy goods and services. That’s especially the case today, the Monday after Thanksgiving -- dubbed “Cyber Monday."
Today is far and away the busiest online shopping day of the year. Last year, according to Adobe, online shopping sales were over $2.29 billion for just one day. IBM said that shopping was up 20.6 percent over 2012 and experts expect a rise again this year. Along with increased convenience, shopping online also brings with it the potential for increased risks of theft, fraud, and abuse.
President Obama is taking action on cybersecurity. His 2013 Executive Order on Cybersecurity created an industry driven Cybersecurity Framework that has helped strengthen our businesses and networks. In October, he signed a consumer financial protection Executive Order that will move the government forward to invest in technologies that increase the financial protection and cybersecurity for everyone.
Jumblatt slams calls for Lebanon-Syria coordination
BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt Monday criticized those seeking coordination between Lebanon and Syria over the Lebanese hostage crisis.
“It is strange these allegations that come from here and there about our positions on the issue of the kidnapped servicemen,” Jumblatt wrote in his weekly column for Al-Anbaa newspaper.
“Strange, too, how some are trying to portray our vision as if it stems from sectarian considerations, knowing that the [hostages] belong to various religions and sects.”
“Why give this national issue a sectarian tone?” he complained.
“Then again what is this heresy that calls for reactivating coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies? And for what goals and reasons?"
At least 26 Lebanese soldiers and policemen are held captive by ISIS and Nusra Front militants on the Syria border.
“What will Lebanon achieve through coordination between the two armies? ... Why should we give the Syrian regime credit after it became increasingly discredited? And why is there a link between the release of the kidnapped Lebanese and Syrian soldiers?
Jumblatt urged the various Lebanese sides to stop working for sectarian interests “because this national issue cannot tolerate any more procrastination.”
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Officials inaugurate north Lebanon press club
BEIRUT: A new press club for north Lebanon’s journalists was inaugurated Wednesday in the presence of top officials and influential figures from the region.
Held at Tripoli’s Chamber of Commerce, the ceremony was attended by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, and MPs Ahmad Fatfat, Samir Jisr, Khaled Daher, Fadi Karam, Nidal Tohme, Mouin Merehbe, Qassem Abdel-Aziz, Kazem Kheir, Khaled Zahraman, Riad Rahhal and representatives of other officials.
“Many have written and broadcasted ... about the deprivation and negligence that north Lebanon has suffered from,” said the club’s presdent Abdel-Salam Turkmani. “But despite its importance, this is not enough to give Tripoli and the north their rights.
Turkmani stressed that the club’s goal is to push north Lebanon’s media from the state of “complaints and criticisms” to that of “meticulous and strategic action.”
He also explained that the club will defend Tripoli against campaigns that are launched to distort its image.
“Our main goal is to form a media lobby from Tripoli and other northern areas to work on reporting the real image of events, neither a sugar-coated picture, nor a solely negative one.”
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Lebanon investigates 55 state workers over real estate corruption
BEIRUT: Fifty-five civil servants are being investigated for corruption as part of a widespread crackdown on dishonest real estate dealings, including the theft of public property and embezzlement, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil said Monday.
“There is an increasing number of cases related to bribes and embezzlement by clerics in real estate departments as many citizens now have to pay more to finish their paperwork and forcing the government to lose millions of dollars throughout the years,” Khalil said in a televised news conference at his ministry.
"After the rise of complaints and as a result of investigation into reported violations, we now have dozens of documents that prove the involvement of employees in these departments in corruption.”
He said he referred “55 employees in real estate departments including topography officials to investigation,” including several high-ranking officials, stressing that finance ministry employees no longer enjoy any form of immunity.
He also spoke about many cases in which public money assigned to the implementation of public projects approved by the government illegally referred to the personal accounts of employees.
Khalil’s crackdown tackles almost taken-for-granted practices of public sector employees primarily topography officials who receive bribes to speed up the process of paperwork and estimate property at a lower price or at a larger size, which at times extends to public property.
“One topography official’s house cost $6 million. How is that possible?” Khalil asked, saying the state has lost many properties to such illegal practices.
"Millions of meters belonging to the state are now the private property of either people or suspicious companies,” he said.
Khalil said that many citizens took advantage of the 2006 war in Lebanon to identify and register property in their names, most of which were state-owned.
"How can a grandfather inherent from his son? Or his grandchildren?”
In order to address these concerns, Khalil said he issued a decision in the ministry to stop all ongoing paperwork in the real estate departments for a three-month period for citizens to resubmit their files.
“I have also spoken to the justice ministry to follow up on these documents,” he said, adding that an additional 29 files were referred to the Office of the Financial Prosecutor.
He also said he would form a committee to follow up on all complaints filed by citizens.
Lebanon detains 4 Syrians sneaking back home
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s State Security arrested four Syrians as they tried to sneak back into Syria Monday through illegal crossings in the border area of Rashaya, southeast of Lebanon, state media reported.
The National News Agency said the four were seeking to cross into the village of Beit Jin in Syria, on the opposite slope of Mount Hermon, when they were apprehended by State Security officers near Ain Ata, on the Lebanese side of the mountain.
The four possessed cellular phones which carried photos of militants from ISIS and Nusra Front, NNA said, adding they were all referred to the judiciary.
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Bassil praises Senegal for moderate Islam
BEIRUT: Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil lauded the majority Muslim African state of Senegal for exercising religious tolerance and moderate Islam at a time Muslim fundamentalism is on the rise in the Middle East and North Africa.
“We never heard that a Senegalese had one day left Senegal to go to fight in Syria, or Egypt, or Libya, or that (Senegal) had meddled in the affairs of another country,” Bassil said in Dakkar, where he attended a meeting of the Francophone Organization.
“This country (Senegal) is a mere example of true religion, reflecting the bright and radiant image of Islam which has no links whatsoever with the practices of certain terrorists,” Bassil said.
He pointed out that thousands of fighters from Europe and Arab countries as well as other parts of the world have converged to fight in Syria or Iraq, but not a single Senegal national was recorded fighting abroad.
“This fact is due to freedom of worship and speech and the consolidation of religious understanding and practice (in Senegal),” Bassil said, praising the West African state for deterring the use religion as a means to attack others.
“Those who use God Almighty, who created us, to eliminate other creations in the name of God, is not a human being, and definitely not a Muslim, nor a Christian,” Bassil added.
He also praised Senegal for hosting a large Lebanese expatriate community, estimated at more than 30,000 people.
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Army busts north Lebanon drug ring
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army detained three people part of a drug ring in the northern village of Kneisseh, the state-run National News Agency said Monday.
Army Intelligence personnel arrested two Lebanese and a Syrian on charges of drug use and trafficking in the Akkar area, the report said.
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Army rounds up 11 in Beirut and the north for 'terror links'
BEIRUT: The military rounded up 11 people, including four Syrians and an Australian, in Beirut’s densely-populated neighborhood of Tariq al-Jadideh and northern Lebanon Monday on suspicion of having links to jihadi, an Army statement said.
“An Army force raided early morning (Monday) a certain location in Al-Tariq al-Jadideh in Beirut during which it arrested four Syrian nationals, on suspicion of having links to terrorist groups and for residing in Lebanon without legal papers,” the statement said.
It added that six Lebanese and an Australian national were also detained Monday in the district of Koura, in north Lebanon, on suspicion of terror links.
The statement said the men were referred to the judiciary, adding that the arrests were part of a security dragnet targeting wanted militants.
Security sources told The Daily Star that dozens of Syrians are being rounded up regularly as part of the security measure aimed at clamping down on terror suspects and clandestine entry into Lebanon.
Many have also been detained on the basis of search and seizure warrants filed by Interpol or by the Syrian authorities, in line with a treaty for the exchange of criminals signed between Lebanon and Syria, the sources said.
They stressed, however, that those residing illegally are given the chance to legalize their status to avoid deportation.
But those who are wanted in Syrian and had escaped to Lebanon are investigated in order to establish whether their repatriation would place their lives in danger before a decision is made on whether or not to send them back to Syria, the sources added.
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Lebanese mourn death of poet Said Akl
BEIRUT: Hundreds gathered Monday at Notre Dame University northeast of Beirut to mourn the death of poetry giant Said Akl.
Akl died Friday at the age of 102.
A funeral service will be held for Akl Tuesday at the Maronite Cathedral of St. George in Downtown Beirut ahead of the burial in his east Lebanon hometown of Zahle.
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North Lebanon gas station owners protest UNHCR measure
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: The owners of gas stations in the northern villages of the Wadi Khaled border region blocked the main road leading to the area Monday to protest a UNHCR decision.
The United Nations refugee agency delivers diesel and other fuels to Syrian refugees in the area as part of its humanitarian aid mission.
But recently, the agency and its partners decided to stop buying fuel from local gas stations and moved the delivery points to outside the area.
The move angered the gas station owners, who pledged not to allow any employee of the U.N. or its partner organizations to enter the area until the decision was reversed.
They said the measure was unfair both to them and to the Syrian families who will have to go outside the area to receive fuel.
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Body of missing hunter found in Kfar Debian valley
BEIRUT: The body of a hunter who went missing the day before was found in the bottom of a rocky valley near Kfar Debian in the Kesrouan district Monday, following what appears to be a fatal fall, security sources told the Daily Star.
The sources said Fadi Akiki had a bullet wound in his head and police were investigating whether the trigger of his hunting rifle was pulled by accident when he fell.
"Police is still investigating the cause of the death and whether it was a homicide, or just a fatal accident," the sources said.
Akiki's family said the 30-year-old hunter went out hunting Sunday morning and never came back.
Relatives tried to contact him when he did not show up for lunch, then searched the rugged area for hours before founding the body deep in the valley.
Police and Civil Defense were alerted to retrieve the body from the hardly accessible area. Earlier reports said Akiki has probably slipped and fallen to death.
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ISIS commander in charge of hostages expelled: report
BEIRUT: The alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of the Lebanese servicemen from the northeastern border town of Arsal has been expelled from ISIS, local daily Al-Akhbar said Monday.
Al-Akhbar said it had learned that Abu Talal al-Hamad, ISIS’s commander for Syria’s Qalamoun region, had been expelled from ISIS's ranks.
Citing activists in Qalamoun, the report said ISIS's "caliph," Abu Bakr Baghdadi, would appoint a new commander to take charge of the hostage crisis, possibly a Tunisian.
They tied Hamad’s expulsion to the arrest of Abu Ahmad Joumaa, a prominent Syrian rebel commander apprehended by the Lebanese Army, as well as to avenge the death of Ahmad Taha, better known as Abu Hasan al-Falastini.
Sources told Al-Akhbar that the move would further complicate the hostage crisis.
However, sources close to the Dawn of Islam Brigade played down the report, denying Hamad had been removed.
In comments to Al-Akhbar, they said Hamad had pulled away with members of his group to Homs, their hometown.
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Republicans Debate: Fight The President Now, Or Fight Him Later?
Republican Senator-elect Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he expects his party to challenge the president immediately on immigration, and that he hopes President Obama's Defense and Justice nominees will be acceptable to both parties. Davis Turner/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Davis Turner/Getty Images
Republican Senator-elect Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he expects his party to challenge the president immediately on immigration, and that he hopes President Obama's Defense and Justice nominees will be acceptable to both parties.
Davis Turner/Getty Images
Congress returns for its final session of the year on Monday afternoon, and they have a big to-do list ahead before they can adjourn for the holidays.
First on the agenda is a government spending bill, which needs to be finished before Dec. 11, the expiration date for the current funding. The Wall Street Journal reports that the current Republican plan to fund the government involves an "omnibus measure," which would patch together several bills to fund the government — with some contentious caveats — until the end of the fiscal year in September 2015.
Threatening the civility of the work session is deep disagreement about President Obama's recent executive action over immigration, which has angered several conservatives in Congress. There is talk of tying the spending bill to halting funds for the planned immigration reform, specifically by excluding the Department of Homeland Security from the government funding. Fox News reports that the president might veto such a bill, a disagreement that could cause another government shutdown.
On Sunday, Senator-elect Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told CBS' "Face the Nation" he's prepared for a battle.
"I think we're going to complicate it," says Tillis. "We could end up having a contentious debate that could be avoided."
The GOP leadership is hoping to avoid a shutdown, as the previous one in 2013 hurt public opinion of the party's ability to govern. Peter Wehner from the Ethics & Public Policy Center told The Wall Street Journal that "public opinion tends to favor a president over Congress" during a shutdown.
At the center of this tension is House Speaker John Boehner, whom The New York Times reports "does not want to be remembered as the Shutdown Speaker."
"Mr. Boehner and his fellow Republican leaders are working to persuade the rank and file — furious over President Obama's executive action on immigration — that engaging in a spending confrontation is the wrong way to counter the White House. That would set the wrong tone, they argue, as Republicans prepare to take over Congress and fulfill promises to govern responsibly."
Confirmation proceedings for President Obama's nominees to lead the Department of Defense and Department of Justice could also be sticking points after Republicans take control in 2015.
Tillis says he hopes the nominees will please both parties.
"I think it's a great opportunity out of the gate for the president to identify consensus nominees that we can all get around and support. Those are very important jobs. They need to be filled.
"But they need to be filled with someone who can take in to account both sides of the equation, both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue."
Also on the list of key items for Congress is an annual defense-policy bill, renewing temporary tax breaks and addressing an insurance program for terrorism prevention that will expire in the new year.
Lebanon mission to Moscow to discuss arms deal
Lebanon mission to Moscow to discuss arms deal
A military delegation headed by the Lebanese Army chief of staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman will reportedly leave to...
US wants to be part of Lebanon's swap deal: report
BEIRUT: The U.S. is reportedly pursuing its own interests, urging Qatar to include the release of American hostages held by ISIS in any swap deal with the jihadists to free Lebanese captives, As-Safir reported Monday.
“What is the validity of the information made available to Lebanese authorities regarding the U.S.’s [intervention] in the hostage issue, by urging Doha to include the names of U.S. citizens kidnapped by ISIS and Nusra Front in any swap deal?” the local daily asked in its front-page article.
“Doesn’t this demand remind us of a similar episode when Washington – through its embassy in Ankara – called for the release of [Syrian blogger] Tal al-Mallouhi from a Syrian regime prison as a key condition in the swap deal in the midst of the Azaz negotiations?” the report added.
As-Safir launched a scathing attack on the government, saying the “willpower of the state also became hostage to blackmail and mismanagement and conflicts of roles and interests.”
The story's headline blared “The Scandal: Many heads involved in negotiations ... The result is zero!
As-Safir said the “dispersed” and “scattered” management was most dangerous, saying the hostage issue was nearly subjected to quota where religions and sects to which the kidnapped servicemen belong became partners in the negotiation, even getting the power of veto after having become stakeholders.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Sunday that the head of General Security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, was solely in charge of negotiations aimed at freeing the 26 Lebanese servicemen held by ISIS and the Nusra Front.
Salam denied that there was discord within the crisis cell he had created to deal with hostage ordeal, describing the ongoing talks to free them as “serious” but admitting that no new developments had occurred.
Qatar has been mediating the release of the servicemen who were kidnapped early in August during the jihadists' brief takeover of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
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