President al-Assad singled out Qatar, Turkish foreign minister Davutoglu and the EU as his obstacles
على ذمة «الراي»...الرئيس الأسد لوفد الجالية في الكويت: قطر تنفق مليارات الدولارات لتغيير النظام والمعارض الوحيد لنا في تركيا هو داوود أوغلو
Pending on the «al-Ra'y» ... President Assad to the delegation of the community in Kuwait: Qatar is spending billions of dollars to change the regime and we only opposition in Turkey is Davutoglu
http://www.alwatan.sy/dindex.php?idn=109097
http://backupurl.com/doeb9z
09/25/2011
(For the extract in Arabic and English, read "Sep 25 Central government". For the full text, click the URL link above.)
وفد الجبهة الشعبية للتغيير: اللقاء المشترك مع أحزاب اليسار التركية أدان أي تدخل خارجي بشؤون سورية
PFCL (Popular Front for Change and Liberation) Condemns Foreign Interference in Syria's Affairs, Calls for Dialogue to Overcome the Crisis (SCP and SSNP participated)
http://www.sana.sy/ara/2/2011/09/25/371494.htm
http://www.sana.sy/eng/21/2011/09/25/371542.htm
Sep 25, 2011
DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The joint meeting of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation in Syria (PFCL) and the Turkish left-wing forces represented in some of Turkey's left parties, held in Istanbul last Friday, condemned any foreign interference in Syria's internal affairs.
http://arabic.rt.com/news_all_news/news/567572
Syrian refugees reject rape claims
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=syrian-refugees-reject-rape-claims-2011-09-25
Sunday, September 25, 2011
ZEYNEL LÜLE
HATAY – Hürriyet
Speaking to Hürriyet on Friday, residents of the Yayladağı camp said they had never heard of such an incident and do not know any woman with this name.
Following the reporting of the allegations, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would visit the six refugee camps in Hatay after returning from the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.
Entering the camps for the first time, Hürriyet observed that the rape allegations have disturbed managers of the camps. In their own research, the managers said they were unable to find any of the women mentioned at the camps and their names were not recorded among those who had entered. The managers told Hürriyet that a man who claimed to be a relative of the women sent a letter after the "confessions" were aired, saying these women never entered Turkey. This statement was also verified by Tolga Polat, the district governor.
Time ticking for Assad in Syria: Erdogan
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Sep-24/149626-time-ticking-for-assad-in-syria-erdogan.ashx
September 24, 2011 11:44 PM (Last updated: September 25, 2011 12:50 PM)
By Jasmin Melvin
WASHINGTON: Syrian President Bashar Assad will be ousted "sooner or later" by his own people as the time of dictatorial rule fades around the world, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said.
الإسكان والتعمير: ضرورة تسريع المفاوضات مع الجانب الإيراني لتأمين القرض المطلوب لتنفيذ محطة معالجة الحسكة
Housing and Construction: the need to speed up negotiations with the Iranian side to secure the loan required for the implementation of the treatment plant Hasaka
http://www.sana.sy/ara/2/2011/09/25/371545.htm
September 25, 2011
اجتماع بمقر الامانة العامة لجامعة الدول العربية لمناقشة تفعيل اتفاقية التعاون الجمركي العربي
meeting at the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States to discuss the activation of the Arab Customs Cooperation Agreement
http://www.sana.sy/ara/4/2011/09/25/371483.htm
September 25, 2011
Syria crisis means hard times for Lebanon border towns
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Sep-25/149634-syria-crisis-means-hard-times-for-lebanon-border-towns.ashx
September 25, 2011 12:24 PM
By Khaled Soubeih
Agence France Presse
WADI KHALED, Lebanon: The Buqayaa smugglers' market on Lebanon's border with Syria, once a hive of shoppers, has become a ghost street since the uprising there, with most shops closed and not a customer in sight.
The once flourishing smuggling operations that supplied the souk have all but halted as Syria boosts security at the border as part of its crackdown on more than six months of anti-regime protests, in which thousands of Syrians have fled violence at home to seek refuge in Lebanon.
"Before the Syrian revolution began this was the busiest souk in all of northern Lebanon and maybe even the whole country," said merchant Rateb al-Ali.
"Buqayaa was a beehive of business between Lebanon and Syria," added the 40-year-old. "But that's not the case any more."
Located by the illegal Buqayaa border crossing on the Kabir River separating Lebanon from Syria, the market of around 4,000 shops selling everything from women's accessories to spare car parts and fuel was once called the "golden souk."
Most goods were smuggled from Syria into north Lebanon's Akkar area, an impoverished mountain region famed for its scenic natural beauty.
Illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria have long been a vital lifeline for the Lebanese of northern regions such as Wadi Khaled in Akkar, most making a living off cross-border "trade."
Cross-border merchants – or smugglers – have for years carried goods like soap and shampoo from Lebanon to sell in Syria daily, bringing back food staples and cigarettes.
Seated in the garden of his three-story home, Ali explained that the uprising in Syria had stripped many residents of Wadi Khaled of their livelihood.
"Authorities on either side of the border have long known that goods go in and out of Lebanon without passing through customs," said the sharply dressed father of four.
"But business today is down 90 percent. Many people in our towns have lost their source of income."
Outside his shop, Mohammed Hamadeh swatted flies while patiently waiting for a customer.
His kiosk, stocked with chocolates, fruit juice and cigarettes, once generated enough income to provide for his 13 children, but today he is lucky if he makes $3 by sunset.
"Around 2,000 Syrian laborers used to cross the Kabir to work in Lebanon every day, and they'd stop by my shop to buy a cup of coffee or some refreshments," said the 40-year-old.
"Now, if it's a good day, a neighbor or relative will come buy a bottle of water."
Across the river from Hamadeh's shop, Syrian soldiers patrol the border, eyeing the crossing for any activity.
"Syrian laborers used to cross the river all the time to come work here," Hamadeh said. "Today no one dares cross because they're afraid they'll get shot."
The United Nations estimates close to 3,800 Syrians have fled into Lebanon since the protests against President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March.
More than 2,600 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the conflict, according to the U.N..
Movement at official crossings in north Lebanon has also slowed in recent days, amid unconfirmed reports Syrian troops are combing the border for anyone trying to leave the crisis-hit country.
"Currency exchange here at the border has dropped 80 percent since the Syrian revolution began," said Amer, who runs an exchange service near the official Arida crossing point, a stone's throw from the souk.
"I used to exchange five million Syrian pounds [$105,000 dollars] daily but now the average is 400,000 pounds [$8,200 dollars] per day."
It is not just businessmen who are suffering: residents of Wadi Khaled who can no longer cross into Syria for their food shopping are now struggling to meet rising prices in Lebanon.
"Consumer goods in Syria are significantly cheaper than Lebanon," said Ali Ramadan, mayor of the border village of Mashta Hammoud.
"A butane gas cylinder for a household cooker sells for 15 dollars in Lebanon but would cost no more than eight dollars in Tal Kalakh," he added of the Syrian border town where protests have been met with deadly fire.
Many Syrians have left their homes in Syrian border towns like Tal Kalakh and Heet and resettled in abandoned schools rehabilitated by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) or with relatives in north Lebanon -- relatives who themselves are now struggling to get by.
"People from towns on either side of the border are inter-married, so family has helped family during this time of crisis in Syria," Ramadan said.
"They are sharing everything they own. Unfortunately, in light of rampant unemployment and the decline in trade here, there is not much to share."
U.S. mulling visa freeze on Rai: report
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Sep-25/149632-us-mulling-visa-freeze-on-rai-report.ashx
September 25, 2011 12:00 PM (Last updated: September 25, 2011 03:44 PM)
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The United States State Department is currently considering a visa freeze on Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai to prevent him from entering the country, Ad-Diyar newspaper has reported.
According to the newspaper the news was announced by a bishop in New York, who also noted that talks are now ongoing between the White House and Maronite bishops in the U.S. in order to ease tensions.
Jordan's Aqaba port thrives amid region's instability
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=239440&R=R3
By REUTERS
09/25/2011 18:55
"With all the problems around us, it's amazing. These few months have been very active," said Qassem, 49, near one of the port's six large cranes at a berth that has become a huge construction site.
Now, as political unrest sweeps the Arab world, hurting trade flows through nearby ports including Syria's Latakia and Tartous and Egypt's Alexandria and Suez, Aqaba is enjoying a fresh revival.
"At the moment everyone is seeking security. Security is very, very important and Aqaba has it," said Captain Mohamad Dalabieh, executive manager of Jordan's Shipping Association.
Since the start of this year, Aqaba has bucked the regional trend. Incoming cargo has climbed 27 percent from a year earlier to 6.69 million tonnes in the first eight months of 2011, while transit trade, mostly to Iraq, has jumped 68 percent, according to data from port authorities.
A major reason is the turmoil in Syria, where the political unrest and international economic sanctions have sharply cut the use of Syrian ports for regional transit trade. Much of this business is now going through Aqaba.
Another factor is US military cargo being transported out of Iraq and through Aqaba as US forces scale back their presence in that country, local shippers say.
Both factors are expected to be temporary; US forces are due to complete all or at least the vast bulk of their withdrawal from Iraq by the end of this year, while Syria's port business should recover when the country eventually regains political stability.
But Jordanian officials hope that even when calm returns to the region, Aqaba will be able to hang on to much of the business it has gained this year - particularly business related to the reconstruction of Iraq.
Port officials estimate as much as 40 percent of Aqaba's incoming cargo is destined for Iraq, while ACT's Hansen predicts total container throughput will rise 15 percent to around 700,000 TEU this year, mainly driven by Iraqi transit demand.
Shippers say Umm Qasr, Iraq's main port, may not have enough capacity to handle the volume of imports that many predict Iraq will need when it begins reconstruction in earnest.
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