Press Digest for Tuesday September 23, 2014

The following are summaries of today's major stories published in the Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content, giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed in newspapers across the Arab world.

• MP Adwan says agreement reached on funding pay scale

Head of the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc MP Georges Adwan told An-Nahar newspaper on Tuesday that the series of ranks and salaries will soon be passed; stressing that political officials will shortly announce an agreement related to funding sources.

MP Adwan noted that discussions related to the pay scale led to various developments and yielded fruitful results, adding that all items pertaining to the said issue were discussed.

• Arab League SG says actions of Islamic State unacceptable

The Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi told An-Nahar newspaper on Tuesday that “countries in the region took a decision to confront the Islamic State,” stressing that actions carried out by the said organization are unacceptable.

He also noted that Arab states agreed on the necessity of proposing a draft law at the Security Council to set a timeframe for the Israeli occupation for the Palestinian land within the pre-June 1967 borders.

• KSA and Iran agreed on the necessity of eliminating the Islamic State

House Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Tuesday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached common grounds pertaining to the fight against the Islamic State, adding that both countries agreed on the necessity of eliminating this organization especially in Iraq.

Berri told Al-Joumhouria newspaper that the US plan in Iraq aims at dividing the country into a Kurdish state in the north and a Shiite state in the south in order to form a Sunni army that protects the Sunni part of the state, adjacent to Syria.

• Minister Mashnouq says discussions are ongoing to secure the release of abducted troops

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq warned on Tuesday from derailing the issue of the kidnapped soldiers from its path, stressing that Lebanese authorities are facing terrorists who aim at inciting a Shiite-Sunni strife in Lebanon.

In this regard, Mashnouq told As-Safir newspaper that changing the path of the said dossier will serve terrorist groups and will lead to chaos in various Lebanese regions.

He also noted that discussions are ongoing with Qatari and Turkish officials in order to secure the release of the abducted troops.