Introduction to the evening news 04-10-2011

At a time when escalating tensions in Syria are demanding ever-greater attention, surprising events in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia managed to steal the limelight when clashes injured 14 people in the oil-rich, and predominantly Shiite, eastern provinces.  Immediately, the interior ministry issued a statement accusing an unnamed foreign state of attempting to undermine the country’s security; a thinly veiled reference to Iran, a neighboring country that disagrees with the Kingdom on the issues of Bahrain, Syria, Iraq and Gulf security.     

Meanwhile, 48 hours after the Syrian opposition conference in Istanbul, Turkey intensified its pressure on Damascus by announcing military maneuvers it termed a “mobilization”. The troop movement will begin tomorrow in the Hatay province along the Syrian border where more than 7,000 Syrian refugees are currently being sheltered. Recep Tayyep Erdogan announced that he would pay a visit to those refugees in Hatay this week. These maneuvers revive speculation that Turkey seeks to establish a buffer zone along its southern border, especially in light of news that dissidents from the Syrian army have sought refuge there under Turkish protection.     

In the meantime, President Bashar Assad still holds faith in Russia who will spare him tonight from being the target of a U.N. Security Council resolution.  The Syrian president today hosted three Nasserite Sunni figures from Lebanon while the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon was conveying a message to the defense minister entitled: “Protect the Syrian Opposition Refugees”. Still on Syria, Minister Marwan Kheireddine exposed to LBC the truth behind the new set of instructions given to Lebanese banks regarding standard practices and procedures with Syrian clients.     

Domestically, we seem to be going around and around on the same issues. Aoun reiterated that neither President Sleiman, nor PM Mikati, nor any other politician have the power to fund the STL. In addition, administrative appointments are being put to vote in installments much like what will happen tomorrow when the Lebanese University’s leadership inches towards designating former minister Adnan al-Sayyed Hussein as the new director of Lebanese University; an appointment that comes after all of the ambiguities with President Sleiman regarding the appointment of a new director were cleared.  Another dizzying topic has been the wage hike and the exact numbers to be accepted while a discussion will be launched tomorrow on a budget bill that includes three very controversial items: increasing the VAT, imposing a fee on real estate transactions and raising the taxes on interest-derived income.