DAILY SCOPE: Syria Hails Russian Stance, Assures its Right of Sovereignty

Local Editor

NEWSPAPERS' HEADLNES:

AS-SAFIR:

Syrian War: Putin, Obama Agree, and Disagree

AL-Mokdad to As-Safir: US Stance Does Not Mean Much to Syrian People

AN-NAHAR:

Yemeni Legitimate Forces Take Control over Ma'reb Dam

AL-AKHBAR:

Moscow: Cooperation, Not Coalition with the US

AL-BINAA:

Putin Eliminates Disputes with Obama, Syrian People to Decide Who is the President

AL-JOMHOURIA:

Putin's Agenda at UN: Terrorism, Not Al-Assad

AL-LIWAA:

Clashes, Arrests Anew in al-Aqsa Mosque Surroundings

Lebanese newspapers on Wednesday followed up on the events in the United Nations' General Assembly in New York, quoting different officials on the situation in the region, particularly Lebanon and Syria.

Papers also followed up on the developments in al-Aqsa mosque area, where ‘Israel' violence and violation continues.

Berri Says Waste Crisis Unacceptable --- AL-AKHBAR

Speaker Nabih Berri said that he was on the verge of joining civil society activists in anti-government demonstrations sparked by the garbage crisis.

"I am about to head to the street to join the movements," he said in reference to civil society groups that have been holding protests since the Naameh landfill that lies south of Beirut.

"What we're seeing is unacceptable. Where are we heading?" al-Akhbar quoted Berri as asking.

In remarks to his visitors, Berri said "Let no one talk to me about any issue before we settle the waste crisis."

"Is it possible for the state not to have a single piece of land to dump the waste there?" he wondered.

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, who has taken over the file from the environment minister, has been holding talks with civil society representatives and officials from different areas to get the approval on his waste management plan.

The waste crisis erupted in July when Lebanon's largest landfill in Naameh was closed.

Trash began piling up on the streets of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, forcing the dumping of waste in makeshift sites and along the banks of rivers.

UN Stresses Support to Lebanon on Refugees Crisis --- AN-NAHAR

In an interview with An-Nahar daily published on Wednesday, the UN chief's Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini, lamented that the response of the international community to the needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other countries is weak.

He said: "The response does not meet the needs."

Lazzarini said the World Food Program has recently warned that it would suspend its operations starting November not just in Lebanon and Jordan but in Syria too if it does not receive new funding.

An-Nahar did not expect for Lebanon to receive additional aid to help it confront the refugee burden during the meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon that is scheduled to take place in New York on Wednesday.

Lazzarini added that the meeting is aimed at sending a message that Lebanon remains a "priority on the agenda of the international community.

But he noted that several international grants have been frozen because of the government's failure to approve them.

Nineteen countries said Tuesday that they are donating $1.8 billion to the top UN aid organizations to help alleviate the suffering of migrants and refugees in camps near Mideast areas of turmoil.

This noticeable and outstanding European attention to Lebanon started since the Syrian refugees and displaced started pouring into Europe, said sources on Tuesday.

Since the start of the Syria war in 2011, nearly four million Syrians have fled their country. Around two million have sought Lebanon for asylum, constituting quarter of the population.

Syria Admires Russian Stance, Syria to Determine its Fate --- AS-SAFIR

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mokdad told As-Safir newspaper on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that Damascus was not surprised from the Russian-US disagreement that was clear n the stances of the two countries at the UN assembly on solving the Syrian crisis.

"Russia and we are allies, and throughout this crisis there was only more coordination and enhancement of this alliance. As for the United States, if you keep track of their stances you can see the big jump in its stances which does not mean much to the Syrian people," he told the paper.

He went on to say "The Syrian people and army insist to protect their country and eliminate the threat of domination and hegemony especially as the US and ‘Israel' stand behind the scheme of destroying Syria."

The Syrian FM assured that Syria respects and admires the major role played by the Russian President Vladimir Putin, who keeps assuring that Syria is the only country that should make the decisions and determine its fate.
"We should foil all plots being woven against Syria, its people and the region," he stressed.

Popular Committees, Yemen Army Announce Control over Jizan Area --- AL-AKHBAR

Sources told al-Akhbar newspaper that the Yemeni groups were able to take control of the Muhannad town in Jizan area after fierce clashes with the Saudi forces. The source assured that a number of Saudi soldiers were injured and killed in the clashes.

Also, according to the source, the popular committees and the Yemeni army were able to destroy 13 Saudi military vehicles during the battles in the area.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 188 days now to restore power to fugitive president Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 6,230 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah revolutionaries, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team