Bible Quotation for today/
Hebrews 05 /01-10: "Every high priest is chosen from his fellow-men and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings for sins.  Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes.  And because he is himself weak, he must offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for his own sins.  No one chooses for himself the honor of being a high priest. It is only by God's call that a man is made a high priest—just as Aaron was. In the same way, Christ did not take upon himself the honor of being a high priest. Instead, God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” He also said in another place, “You will be a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.” In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.  But even though he was God's Son, he learned through his sufferings to be obedient.  When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him,  and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources

Iconic Images of the Syrian War/By: Diana Moukalled/Asharq Alawsat/April 23/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 23/13

Alleged 'al-Qaeda-supported' plot against Via train thwarted
Boston terror focuses Hagel ME trip on Syria & al Qaeda - instead of Iran
Assad critical of Lebanon’s disassociation policy: Qanso
Defending Lebanese in Syria is a moral duty: Hezbollah
Hizbullah Says Fighters Have 'Moral Duty to Protect' Lebanese in Border Villages
Lebanese figures make surprise visit to Assad
Nasrallah met Khamenei in Iran, to make speech May 9
U.S., Israel behind project to destroy Syria: Hezbollah
Lebanon asks Egypt, Iraq to slash transit levy
Discussions on Formation of 24-Member Cabinet Make Major Progress
Geagea Says LF to Withdraw from Subcommittee if No Breakthrough on Vote Law
Lebanese MP, Al-Merehbi Opens Fire in the Air to Disperse Traffic by ISF Patrol
Khaddam Criticizes Suleiman's Stance on Syria: Assad Played Major Role in Your Appointment
Jumblat Voices PSP Flexibility to Reach Agreement on Electoral Law
Tripoli Mob Tortures Man 'Suspected of Being Syrian Agent'
Syrian Observatory Says Hizbullah Leads Fight in Syria's Qusayr
HRW Slams 'Indiscriminate' Syria Fire on Lebanon
Israel Admits 'Acted' to Prevent Arms Reaching Hizbullah
Relatives of Pilgrims Threaten to Hold Open-ended Strike near Turkish Embassy
Passenger Van Slides into Area Disputed with Israel in Adaisseh
Iran Says Assad Should Stay on and Contest 2014 Poll
Hospitalized suspect in Boston bombings awaits charges
Hagel touts arms deal on Israel trip
Sabra named caretaker Syria opposition leader: statement
Up to 500 killed in Damascus 'massacres', activists say
Syrian rebels step up rocket attacks, Hermel hit
EU Eases Syria Oil Embargo to Assist Rebels
Saudi Beheaded for Murder, 35th Execution this Year

Alleged 'al-Qaeda-supported' plot against Via train thwarted
Police say 2 accused were getting 'direction and guidance' from al-Qaeda elements in Iran
CBC News Posted: Apr 22, 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/04/22/pol-terror-plot-ontario-quebec-arrests.html?cmp=rss
Police say they have arrested two men accused of conspiring to carry out an "al-Qaeda supported" attack targeting a Via passenger train in the Greater Toronto Area, following a cross-border investigation that involved Canadian and American law enforcement.
In a press conference that followed a report by CBC's Greg Weston, police named the two accused as Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, from Toronto. They have been charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack and "conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group."
RCMP officials said the two accused were plotting to derail a passenger train. Jennifer Strachan, chief superintendent of RCMP criminal operations in the province of Ontario, said the two suspects watched trains and railways in the Greater Toronto Area. There was a specific route targeted, not necessarily a specific train, Strachan said, although she declined to reveal the route.
"We are alleging that these two individuals took steps and conducted activities to initiate a terrorist attack," she told reporters.
The two men arrested are not Canadian citizens but were in the country legally, police said Monday. Investigators would not provide any details about their nationalities.
The RCMP accused the two men of conspiring to commit an "al-Qaeda-supported" attack.
RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia said the two accused were getting "direction and guidance" from al-Qaeda elements in Iran. There was no information to suggest the attacks were state sponsored, he said.
Radio-Canada, CBC's French service, has learned that Chiheb Esseghaier studied at University of Sherbrooke, before moving to Institute National de la Recherche Scientifique in Varennes, Que., for doctoral research.
The two men are expected to appear at Old City Hall courthouse in Toronto tomorrow.
Alleged attack in planning stage
"Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Maliza told reporters on Monday.
Strachan said the attack was in the planning state but "not imminent."
In a statement, RCMP said while they believe the individuals accused had the "capacity and intent" to carry out an attack, they believed there was "no imminent threat" to the public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure.
In a statement, Via Rail reiterated that "at no time" was there an imminent threat to the safety of the public or Via rail passengers or staff.
"We co-operate with all involved in ensuring the safety and security of our passengers, our employees and the public," Via said. According to Via, its trains carry nearly four million passengers annually.
Toronto Imam Yusuf Badat, of the Islamic Foundation of Toronto, told CBC's Evan Solomon that RCMP officers said they received tips from the Muslim community that led to the arrests.
RCMP spoke to community leaders before the news briefing held Monday. Badat said none of the community leaders that were present at the briefing had heard of the two men arrested.
Cross-border co-operation
RCMP officials said the investigation, called Operation Smooth, was ongoing, but declined to provide details.
Highly placed sources tell CBC News the alleged plotters have been under surveillance for more than a year in Quebec and southern Ontario.
The investigation was part of a cross-border operation involving Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The two men arrested are accused of plotting to attack a passenger train in the Toronto area. (iStock)The arrests Monday morning were co-ordinated and executed by a special joint task force of RCMP and CSIS anti-terrorism units, combined with provincial and municipal police forces in Ontario and Quebec.
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews congratulated the RCMP, CSIS and local law enforcement and thanked the FBI for their assistance.
"Today's arrests demonstrate that terrorism continues to be a real threat to Canada," Toews told reporters on Parliament Hill Monday. "The success of Operation Smooth is due to the fact that Canada works very closely with international partners to combat terrorism."
He declined to take questions, citing the ongoing investigation.
U.S. Ambassador David Jacobson also congratulated the RCMP and said in a statement the arrests were the result of "extensive" cross-border co-operation.
"It underscores the fact that we face serious and real threats, and that security is a shared responsibility," Jacobson said. "We all need to remain vigilant in confronting threats and keeping North America safe and secure."
Law enforcement officials say the terror suspects arrested today have no connection to the two brothers accused of last week's Boston Marathon bombings.
They also say there is no tie to the former London, Ont., high school friends who joined al-Qaeda and died earlier this year while helping to stage a bloody attack on an Algerian gas refinery.
The plot recalls another that was broken up in the summer of 2006, when police arrested 18 people in a massive anti-terrorism sweep in southern Ontario.
Eleven of the 18 were subsequently convicted of aiding the group in various plots, ranging from blowing up the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill and the Toronto Stock Exchange with trucks laden with explosives to beheading the prime minister and other politicians.
The group never got a chance to execute any of its plans before being arrested when one of its members took delivery of what they thought were three tonnes of explosive fertilizer to be used in truck bombs. Undercover agents had replaced the shipment with harmless chemicals.
Four are serving sentences of 18 years to life in prison, while the other seven received terms ranging from 30 months to just over seven years.
More recently, three Canadian citizens were arrested in August, 2010 — two Ottawa men and a London, Ont. doctor — and charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity.
One of them, Hiva Alizadeh, was also charged with possession of more than 50 circuit boards allegedly to be used as remote detonators for bombs.
The cases involving those three have yet to go to court.
 

Canada to announce arrests after thwarting "major terrorist attack": CBC
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-announce-arrests-thwarting-major-terrorist-attack-cbc-180404075.html
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police and intelligence agencies will announce multiple arrests on Monday after an operation to thwart a "major terrorist attack," the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported, citing unidentified "highly placed" sources. The operation was coordinated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, CBC said. Canada's national police agency was expected to hold a news conference later on Monday to give details of the alleged plot. Law enforcement officials said the suspects have no connection to the two brothers accused of bombings at the Boston Marathon last week, CBC said.
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp and Cameron French; Editing by Janet Guttsman and Doina Chiacu)

Assad critical of Lebanon’s disassociation policy: Qanso
By Wassim Mroueh/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad criticized Lebanon’s dissociation policy during lengthy talks he held with a Lebanese delegation that visited him over the weekend, Baath Party MP Assem Qanso told The Daily Star Monday. “The Syrian president expressed puzzlement how Lebanon could disassociate itself from the crisis in Syria when the country just falls on the border with Syria,” Qanso, who was a member of the Lebanese delegation that visited Assad, said. In another expression of bewilderment over Lebanon’s disassociation policy, “Assad asked whether Lebanon borders a country in Africa rather than Syria,” Qanso said.
The Syrian president, according to Qanso, was also critical of Lebanese security apparatuses, saying they were not doing enough to prevent the smuggling of weapons and gunmen from Lebanon to Syria.
“Assad said that Lebanese security bodies should tighten measures on the border to first and foremost protect Lebanon,” Qanso said. The Lebanese government has a self-avowed policy of distancing itself from developments in the region, particularly in Syria, as part of efforts to safeguard against the negative consequences of the struggle between the Syrian opposition and Assad. Beirut has repeatedly stressed its commitment to its disassociation policy. In his talks with the Lebanese delegation, Assad also spoke positively about recently nominated Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam. Without naming him, Assad said that descendants of politicians had more experience in politics than most others, Qanso said. Salam, who was nominated on April 6 by the rival March 8 and March 14 camps to head the next government, is the son of late Saeb Salam, who headed a number of Lebanese governments. Asked whether the visit of the Lebanese delegation aimed at voicing support for Assad, Qanso said: “On the contrary, he supported us and boosted our morale.”
The delegation comprised around 50 figures from various sects including Lebanese Democratic Party MP Fadi Aawar, Vera Yammine from Suleiman Franjieh’s Marada Movement, Refaat Eid, the head of the Arab Democratic Party, former MPs Faisal Dawoud and Wajih Baarini, representatives from Hezbollah, Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement and other pro-Assad groups.

Lebanese figures make surprise visit to Assad
The Daily Star/ BEIRUT: A large Lebanese delegation of around 50 political figures traveled to Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad Sunday in a move likely to raise tension in an already divided Lebanon over the crisis next door. The visiting Lebanese delegation was composed of notable pro-Assad figures and parties from all sects, including Hussein Khalil, the political aide of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah; caretaker State Minister Ali Qanso; former minister Abdel-Rahim Mrad; Free Patriotic Movement MP Selim Aoun; Baath MP Assem Qanso; the secretary-general of Harakat al-Umma, Sheikh Abdel-Nasser al-Jabri; and others.
This was the biggest Lebanese delegation to visit Assad since clashes broke out in Syria two years ago. Although Damascus pulled its troops from Lebanon after an almost 29-year presence in the aftermath of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Syrian administration still enjoys wide support among the Lebanese, mainly within the March 8 coalition.
The unrest in Syria has significantly widened the schism between the March 8 coalition and the March 14 alliance. Many fear that the divide over the Syrian conflict will lead to importing the crisis to Lebanon.
Assad told the delegation that Damascus would pursue its unyielding fight against “terrorist groups” in parallel with the implementation of a political plan devised by the government to put an end to the battles.
Assad told the Lebanese delegation that “the situation in Syria is improving due to steadfastness of the Syrian people and their rallying around the Syrian Army,” Syria’s state news agency SANA reported.
SANA said Assad discussed with the Lebanese delegation the overall situation in the region and “in Lebanon and Syria in particular.” Assad stressed that there would be no reconciliation with “Takfiri and terrorist groups.”
Assad said the political, cultural and social diversity of Lebanon and Syria was their strength, immunized them against the “intellectual invasion” targeting the region, and contributed in thwarting “foreign plots that seek to impose a Sykes-Picot-like agreement to divide the region on sectarian and ethnic basis.” The Syrian president was referring to the 1916 agreement that divided Arab Levant provinces of the Ottoman Empire into areas of British and French control. “Syria and Lebanon have always been pioneers in promoting unity and cohesion, particularly through nationalist, pan-Arab and Nasserite parties, which contributed greatly to spreading and bolstering pan-Arab nationalist sentiments,” SANA quoted him as saying. According to SANA, the delegation told Assad that Syria was facing an “international conspiracy” and urged Arab nations to “become involved in foiling the plots targeting Syria’s pan-Arab role and the civilized and moderate Islam the country represents.”

Jumblatt says willing to show flexibility over vote law
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt said his party is ready to show flexibility in order to facilitate consensus over a hybrid electoral law for June’s parliamentary elections.
“With the emergence of positive signs [that rival groups will support] the draft law that combines a winner-takes-all system with proportional representation, we reiterate the readiness of the Progressive Socialist Party to demonstrate the needed flexibility and make further positive steps if they increase the chances of consensus over the new electoral law,” Jumblatt said in his weekly editorial for the Al-Anbaa newspaper.
“The party is ready to resume dialogue with various political factions to achieve this goal and get rid of the draft law of dismembering [Lebanon] called the Orthodox [Gathering] proposal," he said.
"By this, we turn the electoral draft law into an opportunity for bringing the Lebanese together rather than consecrating divisions among them,” Jumblatt added. After meeting for several months, a parliamentary subcommittee failed to agree on an electoral law, although various political groups voiced their support for a hybrid voting system. The subcommittee resumed meetings last week in a bid to achieve consensus on a hybrid electoral law.
Turning to the Cabinet formation process, Jumblatt praised the “calm and wise” method Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam was adopting in consultations to form the Cabinet, his insistence not to engage into the fray of spoil-sharing and his call for the rotation of ministries among sects. “We look forward that all political factions will facilitate the mission of forming the government in order to take the country into a new phase characterized by stability,” he added. Jumblatt also said it was not accidental that bombings that hit Boston last week, killing three, came days after Syrian President Bashar Assad tackled al-Qaeda in an interview.
Assad said that the West would pay for what he said was its support for Al-Qaeda in Syria. “The vanguards of this organization grew up under the protection of the Syrian regime that used them in Iraq and under the protection of other regional regimes that used them in Afghanistan and Iraq,” Jumblatt said. “These explosions are strongly condemned, just like any terrorist explosions targeting innocent civilians during wars and conflicts,” Jumblatt said.
Separately, a statement from the U.K. Embassy said that Jumblatt and British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher visited Northern Ireland for two days last week.
Jumblatt met with Northern Ireland’s first minister, cross party members of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly at Stormont, and key figures involved in the Northern Ireland peace process, according to the statement.
“Commenting on his visit MP Jumblatt said: ‘If there are any conclusions reached from my visit to Northern Ireland ... is that it afforded me the opportunity to learn the details of this historical issue through a series of meetings with the President of the House of Representatives and the First Minister, deputies and personalities from both sides,” the statement said. “The conflict, which lasted for five centuries and turned into a bloody conflict after the independence of Ireland South in 1920 was treated through the four main core principles: dialogue, respect, trust and patience,” Jumblatt said. “Is it possible to reach a stage in Lebanon where these four principles dominate our political and media discourse instead of the continuous fall in a spiral of mistrust and counter-accusations of treason, defamation and counter slander?” he asked. The PSP leader said that although the nature of conflict in Lebanon was different than that of Ireland, the solution reached in Ireland was proof that political and historical settlements, although sometimes difficult and painful, were not impossible.

Hizbullah Says Fighters Have 'Moral Duty to Protect' Lebanese in Border Villages
Naharnet/Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq has said the party's fighters had a moral and nationalistic duty to protect Lebanese citizens from rebels in villages and towns on the Syrian-Lebanese border. “What Hizbullah is doing regarding this issue is a nationalistic and moral duty in protecting the Lebanese in border villages,” Qaouq, who is the deputy head of the party's executive council, said. The Syrian National Coalition — the main opposition group — warned on Sunday that Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's civil war could lead to greater risks in the area, and urged the Lebanese government to "adopt the necessary measures to stop the aggression of Hizbullah" and to control the border to "protect civilians in the area."  The statement coincided with a surge in fighting around the contested town of Qusayr in Syria's Homs province near the frontier with Lebanon.
Reports said that over the past two weeks, the Syrian military, supported by Hizbullah fighters, has pushed to regain control of the border area. The pro-regime gunmen are members of the Popular Committees, which were set up last year in Syria with Hizbullah's backing to protect Syrian villages inhabited by Lebanese Shiites, although rebels accuse the fighters of attacking opposition villages in the area and fighting alongside government forces.
While Hizbullah confirms backing the Popular Committees, it denies taking part in Syria's civil war. Qaouq snapped back at critics, saying Hizbullah “would not leave citizens in border villages to be killed, kidnapped and massacred.” The March 14 alliance should stop insulting the party's “martyrs,” he said, adding they are “the martyrs of the entire nation.”Several Hizbullah members have been buried lately although the party has never said how or where they were killed.

Discussions on Formation of 24-Member Cabinet Make Major Progress
Naharnet /Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam has reportedly clinched a preliminary deal with the country's major political parties to form a 24-member cabinet made up of figures who are not running in the parliamentary elections. Official sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat are playing a major role along with Salam to bring the new cabinet to light.The government formation process gathered pace at the end of last week when Jumblat and Berri's aide, caretaker Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, visited Salam. The sources said that Hizbullah would also be part of the discussions that were held in the past 48 hours. They said an agreement was reached to form a national consensus cabinet made up of political figures that are not provocative and not running in the polls. The deal also included to separate the cabinet formation process from the dispute on the controversial electoral draft-law. An Nahar newspaper said that Salam could now move to the division of portfolios after the agreement on forming a 24-member cabinet and adopting a rotation in the portfolios. Sources close to Salam confirmed to both al-Liwaa and As Safir that "major progress" has been made in the formation process but that more consultations are needed to bring the government to light.The sources avoided giving dates and reiterated that the PM-designate wants a homogeneous and effective executive authority

Geagea Says LF to Withdraw from Subcommittee if No Breakthrough on Vote Law
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea revealed on Monday that his party might not continue attending the electoral subcommittee meetings, which is discussing the controversial vote law, if the rival parties failed to reach common ground. “We might not attend anymore if things continue as they are... Some sides aren't giving a clear stance and others are maneuvering while the electoral law is going windward,” Geagea said in comments to al-Akhbar newspaper. An Nahar newspaper reported that the rest of the March 14 coalition members are also considering to halt their participation in the subcommittee if no breakthrough was reached during the session set to be held on Tuesday. “Hizbullah and its March 8 allies refuse to facilitate the matter,” sources told the daily. The rival parties failed to agree on a new vote law since the subcommittee was established in October last year.
Its members have until May 15 to agree on a new law before Speaker Nabih Berri calls for a parliamentary session to reach a breakthrough. The subcommittee agreed to hold the next round of talks on Tuesday, its third meeting since it resumed sessions earlier in the week in a last-ditch effort to agree on an electoral law. Geagea also tackled the formation of the new cabinet, calling on Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam and President Michel Suleiman to form it according to their “conscience.” “I fear that the pressure exerted on the PM-designate will make us miss the chance to form a coherent government, effective and clean,” the Christian leader stated.
LF MP George Adwan told the newspaper that this week is “decisive” regarding the subcommittee meetings and the formation of the cabinet. “We will not leave things continue as they are,” Adwan, who is a member of the electoral subcommittee, told An Nahar. Over the Syrian cross-border violation, Geagea called on the caretaker cabinet to act responsibly towards the matter and to protect the residents of Hermel and border towns.
“The cabinet should also demand Hizbullah officially to withdraw his fighters from Syrian territories, task the Lebanese army to deploy along the Lebanese-Syrian border and to control it in coordination with the UNIFIL,” the March 14 official said. The March 14 camp continuously called for the assistance of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon to control the Lebanese-Syrian border in accordance with resolution 1701.
Most shells in the past two years were launched from regime-held areas, but anti-Assad rebels last week claimed firing into Hermel's countryside, threatening further attacks if Hizbullah did not stop fighting the insurgency. However, recent raids on the northeastern town of Arsal and the northern district of Akkar have been likely carried out by Syrian regime troops.

Gemayel Says Hizbullah's Border Activities 'Breach Baabda Declaration'
Naharnet/Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel accused Hizbullah on Monday of breaching the Baabda Declaration, revealing the formation of a committee to deal with the Syrian refugees' situation. “Hizbullah's presence has clearly become more and more visible in border regions,” Gemayel remarked after the weekly meeting of the Phalange's political bureau. "This contradicts with the Baabda Declaration that stipulates that the Lebanese political factions should not get involved in Syria's war.”Gemayel expressed his concerns over the latest incidents in the Bekaa's Hermel region: “It looks as if the border area is completely ignored and we are reaching out to concerned authorities over this issue.” Three rockets and a shell fired from Syrian territory landed in Lebanon's Hermel district on Sunday, causing material damage only, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Most shells in the past two years were launched from regime-held areas, but anti-Assad rebels last week claimed firing into Hermel's countryside, threatening further attacks if Hizbullah did not stop fighting the insurgency. Several shells landed in al-Qasr and neighboring villages on Saturday. Last week, two Lebanese were killed in similar attacks. Qusayr-based activist Hadi al-Abdallah told Agence France Presse that Hizbullah fighters were instrumental to the Syrian army's advance."The only reason why the regime is advancing in the Qusayr area is because of Hizbullah's troops. Hizbullah fighters advance on the ground, while the (Syrian) air force gives them cover," Abdallah said via the Internet. The former president revealed that his party has formed an emergency committee to deal with the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, whose numbers, he noted, will keep increasing “as long as battles in Syria continue to intensify.”“The committee will submit a primary report on the refugees' situation and we will follow-up on this issue with international organizations and local authorities,” he announced, warning against the negative consequences the Syrians' presence might have on the economic, social and security aspects of Lebanon. "Officials are not dealing seriously with this issue.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stated earlier in April that the number of Syrian refugees, who fled the turmoil in their country to Lebanon, have soared to more than 400,000. Lebanon appealed in January for $180 million from Arab countries to help it meet the Syrian refugee influx that has threatened to bring the number of the displaced to 420,000 in June. Tackling the cabinet's formation, the Phalange leader expressed his support to Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam in his mission.“Since the beginning we have suggested a national rescue cabinet. We now encourage a capable government that can adopt an electoral law as soon as possible and deal with other pending issues.”Gemayel told reporters that his party does not oppose any electoral law that “protects Lebanon's unity and assures true partnership”: “All suggestions proposed so far, however, do not fulfill these requirements.”

Al-Merehbi Opens Fire in the Air to Disperse Traffic by ISF Patrol
Naharnet /Al-Mustaqbal MP Moein al-Merehbi allegedly fired shots in the air to disperse a bumper-to-bumper traffic in the northern city of Tripoli caused by an Internal Security Forces unit.
According to a communique issued by ISF general directorate, the patrol was removing a building violation in the Beddawi area when the lawmaker arrived at the scene and demanded the ISF unit to remove the checkpoint as it was causing bumper-to-bumper traffic.The officers explained to MP Merehbi their task, asking him to contact caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and address the matter with him.
The statement added that the MP started insulting the patrol then headed back to his car, took a Kalashnikov and opened fire in the air. Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday that Merehbi then lost his balance and tripped into a water channel. But the MP stood up and started shooting in the air again, which prompted an ISF member to knock him on the road.
The ISF communique said that Merehbi also attempted to remove one of the patrol cars, but the driver stopped him and the two men scuffled. The statement said that an investigation was opened into the incident.

Nehme Mahfoud's List Wins Teachers Syndicate Elections
Naharnet/The list headed by Nehme Mahfoud, the incumbent head of the syndicate of private schools teachers in Lebanon, on Sunday achieved a sweeping victory in the syndicate's elections, receiving 4,000 more votes than the rival list. In remarks he voiced after polls closed, Mahfoud saluted Lebanon's teachers “who were loyal, despite the various political affiliations.”He noted that “a large number of Free Patriotic Movement members” voted for his list “because they cast their ballots according to a syndical rather than a political approach.”The rival list comprised candidates belonging to the FPM and the Syrian Social National Party. Mahfoud is considered one of the most prominent leaders of the Syndicate Coordination Committee, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, which has been struggling to rectify wages in Lebanon.

Sabra named caretaker Syria opposition leader: statement
April 22, 2013/Daily Star/BEIRUT: The Syrian National Coalition named veteran dissident George Sabra as caretaker leader of the main opposition grouping on Monday, following the resignation of Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.
Sabra "was assigned today to carry out the functions of the head of the Coalition until elections for a new president," one of the Coalition's main constituent groups, the Syrian National Council, said in a statement.

Lebanon asks Egypt, Iraq to slash transit levy
/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Lebanon has filed an official request to reduce transit transport fees with Iraq and Egypt, the National News Agency reported Monday, in a bid to cut export costs after major land export routes were brought to a halt by the ongoing violence in neighboring Syria.The request was submitted by the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce to Iraqi Ambassador Omar Barzanji and Egyptian Commercial Attaché Saad Cheikh in a meeting, the agency, quoting a statement from the “It is important that we work together with the Agriculture Ministry to service agricultural exporters and help them meet their demands,” head of the Chamber Tawfik Daboussi said.
He added that efforts by the Egyptian and Iraqi embassies had readied Lebanon and the two countries to reach agreements on alleviating fees and developing other areas of cooperation.
“The doors of the embassy are wide open to business plans and projects by Lebanese in all sectors,” the Iraqi ambassador said, adding that the embassy is working to facilitate visas for Lebanese, particularly businessmen and investors. Recently roll-on-roll-off trucks have started to ship Lebanese export trucks from Tripoli to destinations in Egypt and Jordan after the situation on the roads connecting Lebanon through Syria became too dangerous.
Exporters, however, have complained that high shipping costs in addition to transit fees are narrowing their margins. They have called on the government to subsidize shipment costs.

Boston terror focuses Hagel ME trip on Syria & al Qaeda - instead of Iran
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 21, 2013/Before landing in Israel for his first visit as Defense Secretary Sunday, April 21, Chuck Hagel told reporters that the $10 billion arms sales to three US allies are “a very clear signal to Iran that military action remains an option to stop it from going nuclear.” He carried this message to Jerusalem and on to his next stops in Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates. They are the only three Middle East Nations capable of military action against Iran, separately or together, say debkafile’s military sources.
In his comment, Hagel did not mention US military involvement in such military action above and beyond the sale of arms.
At the same time, shortly before boarding his plane for the Middle East, our Washington sources report that the defense secretary’s mission in the region suddenly shifted onto unforeseen terrain as a result of the bombing attacks on the Boston Marathon of April 15, which left three dead and 180 injured. He saw Iran giving way to more pressing concerns centering on Syria and al Qaeda.
There is a certain symbolism in that Israeli physicians at the Beth Israeli Deaconess Medical Center are attending the seriously injured victims of those explosions - as well as the surviving bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, while at home, Israeli medics are treating wounded Syrian combatants, some of them al Qaeda adherents, at a field hospital on the Golan.
At a different level, the United Sates, Israel and Saudi Arabia, while fully alive to the threat of a nuclear Iran, have been jerked into awareness of the burgeoning presence of al Qaeda in Syria, Sinai and Iraq and the menace they pose to Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.
All this has come together in the power plays around the Syrian civil war.
For more than two years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that sympathy is not his motive for propping up Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus, but the certainty that his fall will release a swarm of al Qaeda jihadists on Damascus and other Syrian towns. From there, they will spread out through the southern Russian Caucasus and then leap on Moscow and other key Russian cities.
By aiding Assad, Moscow is therefore protecting Russia, says Putin, echoing the argument US President George W. Bush put forward when he defended the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 as necessary to protect American cities from terror.
President Barack Obama, for his part, has placed the onus of his counterterrorism strategy on decapitating al Qaeda in the belief that without their commanders, the jihadist rank and file will give up and go home.
This strategy was smashed by the Boston bombing. Notwithstanding the high profile liquidations and the CIA drone operations, a major American city stood at the mercy of Islamist terrorists – with possibly more to come.
As an army of law enforcement officers from across America descended five days later on the Watertown backyard and the boat in which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was cowering, President Obama phoned President Putin and thanked him for his “cooperation [unspecified] in the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings.”
This conversation stemmed from the Russian intelligence request to the FBI in 2011 to look into the older Tsarnaev brother, Tamerlan’s ties with Muslim terrorist groups in the Caucasus, who at that time decided to pledge allegiance to al Qaeda. In the face of the US agency’s indifference to its alert, Russian intelligence placed the two brothers under close surveillance – certainly dogging Tamerlan’s footsteps during the six months he spent visiting Dagestan and Chechnya last year – and presumably also in America. Upon his return, he was not placed on the FBI watch list.
The Russian agency was therefore in exclusive possession of the very intelligence the FBI sought for identifying the terrorists who perpetrated the bombings in Boston and their associates, whether inside or outside America.
The Russian president’s “cooperation” with the US inquiry was therefore invaluable.
According to debkafile’s counterterrorism and military sources, Putin’s quid pro quo for this assistance is not yet known, but it will certainly relate to the Syrian conflict rather than the Iranian issue.
Damascus, as well as Tehran and al Qaeda, have been intently watching the US-Russian trade-off in the wake of the Boston event in order to calculate which way to jump and how it will serve their objectives.
The al Qaeda menace may therefore find itself challenged more strongly than before by the Iran-Syria-Hizballah lineup - joined most recently by the Shiite-led Iraqi government, which has begun sending Shiite fighters to the Syrian front. Large-scale US arms sales to its Middle East allies certainly have their place in the front ranged against a nuclear Iran - although the deal Hagel is carrying will take years to materialize. But current events coming in rapid succession have put the Iranian issue on a back burner and Syria at the top of Chuck Hagel’s talks in Jerusalem. Monday he sits down with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and Tuesday, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Hagel touts arms deal on Israel trip
Daily Star/TEL AVIV: Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel and his Israeli counterpart on Monday hailed a major arms deal as a sign of "ironclad" US support for the Jewish state after talks on Iran's nuclear drive and Syria's war.
The US defence secretary, who has been accused of being too critical of Israel, sought to convey a message of solidarity on his first visit to the region since he took office two months ago.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon in Tel Aviv, Hagel confirmed the two had agreed on a multi-billion dollar weapons deal that will see Israel receiving an impressive array of advanced US missiles and aircraft. "Today we took another significant step in the US-Israel defence relationship," Hagel said, reiterating Washington's "ironclad pledge" to ensure Israel's military edge in a region rocked by turmoil.
"Minister Yaalon and I agreed that the United States will make available to Israel a set of advanced new military capabilities," including anti-radiation missiles, radars for fighter jets, KC-135 refuelling aircraft, and the V-22 Osprey, which the United States has not released to other countries, he said.
Yaalon admitted Israel had already "acted" to stop advanced weapons from falling into militant hands, in what was seen as implicit confirmation of Israeli involvement in a strike on an arms convoy inside Syria in January.
He said Israel had laid down three "very clear red lines" for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the first of which was "not to allow sophisticated weapons to be delivered or be taken by rogue elements like Hezbollah or other rogue elements." "When they crossed this red line, we acted," he said, in what was widely understood to be the January 30 strike which hit what a US official said were surface-to-air missiles near Damascus that Israel suspected were en route to Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah. The second red line was maintaining security along the Israeli-Syrian ceasefire line on the occupied Golan Heights, and the third was the transfer of chemical weapons into the hands of militants, which "has not been tested yet," Yaalon said.
European diplomats have alleged the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against rebels, and Hagel said Washington was investigating the accounts. "Currently our intelligence agencies are assessing what happened and what did not happen," he said. The White House has warned that use of chemical agents in the Syrian civil war would constitute a "game changer" but Hagel refused to be drawn on any possible US response.
"I'm not going to discuss contingency options," he said. The US defence secretary said he had had "clear, direct conversations" with Yaalon that covered the threat posed by Iran's nuclear programme, which Washington and much of the West believes is a drive for a weapons capability, but which the Islamic republic denies. US-Israeli relations have been strained over how to address the Iranian threat but Hagel insisted there was no major disagreement on the issue. Before arriving in Israel on Sunday at the start of a six-day regional tour, Hagel had said the arms deal sent a "very clear signal" to Tehran that military action remains an option to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons.Israel, believed to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has refused to rule out a pre-emptive military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, and Hagel on Monday said that "every sovereign nation has a right to defend itself".During the afternoon, the US defence chief took a helicopter tour over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights after which he returned to Jerusalem for talks with President Shimon Peres.
On Tuesday morning, he will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before leaving for a brief stopover in Jordan, then on to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, where he will wrap up details of the $10 billion arms deal that will also provide missiles to Saudi and US F-16 fighter jets to the UAE.
He will also visit Cairo.
 

Iconic Images of the Syrian War

By: Diana Moukalled/Asharq Alawsat
We can’t look away once we lay our eyes on the picture.What first grabs our attention are her green eyes, crying in pain. Blood has dried on her bandaged head, while her hands are raised in front of her face as if protecting herself from an imminent yet inevitable danger.
This is a photograph of a Syrian lady from Idlib who has lost her husband and two children in an attack by the Syrian regime.
The picture is one of the many photos depicting the suffering that Syrians experience every day. It won the prominent Pulitzer Prize for journalistic photos last week, adding to the many awards earned by photos of Syrian death and destruction this year. How can the photo of a father from Aleppo crying on the street with his dead child in his arms not painfully remain in any onlooker’s memory?
Every war has its tragic photos and immortal icons that reside in our collective memory. We cannot recall a specific war or tragedy without remembering such images.
How can we think of the Vietnam War without remembering the photo of the little girl running and screaming in pain following the Napalm shelling? How can we recall Sudan’s famine without considering the photo of the child crawling on the ground as lurking vulture awaited her death? These photos and others of the kind played a role attracting the world’s attention and calling for collective action.
Unfortunately, the Syrians haven’t had the same luck. These images that circulated across the world failed to limit the number of casualties in the country and failed to appeal to the sentiments of the Syrian regime.
The photos were taken by professional photographers and a murderous regime contributed to making them a reality. This regime does undermine the influence of such photos, but has reached a degree of fraud that prompts it to fabricate its own photos. How else can we perceive the carefully prepared video of Asmaa al-Assad embracing mothers of Syrian soldiers killed in battle on Mother’s day?
The regime’s propaganda department attempted to portray the First Lady as wholehearted, as if in mourning of the death of someone dear to her. In reality, Mrs. Assad appeared quite elegant and in good spirits as she appeared to be exploiting the tragedies of these women. It was dramatically directed in a manner that obviously suggests it is acceptable and honorable for Syrian mothers to have lost their sons for the sake of their country. In actuality, these women lost their sons for the sake of a family – the Assad family.
The photo of the lady from Idlib and the other photos that won the Pulitzer Prize display pain, suffering, and blood. The portrayal of the First Lady, however, is cheerful and bright, to the extent that it seems tedious and cruel.
The photographed woman from Idlib is called Aida.