A Hero's Journey: The Eighth Annual Soldier Ride

Today, President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald welcomed members of all five U.S. military branches to the White House for the eighth-annual Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride. The President, Vice President, and Secretary McDonald led the cheers as participants rode around the South Lawn- the first stop in their three-day, 60-mile long cycling tour.

President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, delivers remarks welcoming the Wounded Warrior Project's Soldier Ride to the South Lawn of the White House in celebration of the eighth annual Soldier Ride, April 16, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

read more

The Most Corrupt State In The Country Is ...

High-profile politicians have been brought up on charges in recent years, but where do people think is most corrupt? Collection Agency/flickr Creative Commons hide caption

itoggle caption Collection Agency/flickr Creative Commons

Politics, power and more money than ever can create an environment ripe for corruption.

But what are the most corrupt states, and how is that even defined?

A poll out from Monmouth University asked Americans what they think are the most corrupt states. Overall, there was not much of a consensus, but New York rose to the top (with just 12 percent), followed by California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas.

New York's former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was brought up on fraud charges in February. He pleaded not guilty. Earlier this month, New Jersey's senior Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted on corruption charges. He pleaded not guilty and is vowing to stay in the Senate and fight.

Not surprisingly, there's a political divide. While Democrats, Republicans and independents all put New York atop their list, almost 1 in 5 Republicans (18 percent) said so, followed by California — the two largest Democratic-leaning states.

No. 2 for Democrats was Texas, the biggest Republican-leaning state. Independents went with Illinois as their second choice. Illinois, of course, is home to Rod Blagojevich, the former governor serving time for trying to auction off Barack Obama's Senate seat.

But is there any merit to New York topping the list? Harry Enten at 538 with this great chart that ranks states by corruption convictions, convictions per capita, what local reporters believed, and the lack of stringent laws.

New York does come up in No. 1 in overall corruption convictions, followed by California, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. Of course, those are some of the most populated states in the country with more representatives to pick from.

Per capita, Louisiana (which has had a string of elected officials go to prison), Mississippi and Alaska topped the chart.

By how local reporters saw it, Kentucky was No. 1, followed by Illinois, New Jersey and Alabama.

Georgia had the least stringent laws, followed by South Dakota, Wyoming and Virginia. Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was recently convicted on corruption charges.

Congress Repeals Medicare 'Doc Fix' Law, Ending Annual Scramble

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

The "doc fix", which postpones cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, has been an annual ritual in Congress for years. Now a permanent repeal of the doc fix takes care of the problem for good.

In Or Out In Congress? Gyrocopters, Tweets To Iran, Downton Abbey

i

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician check the gyrocopter that landed on the Capitol's South Lawn Wednesday. Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

An Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician check the gyrocopter that landed on the Capitol's South Lawn Wednesday.

Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

In Congress, just like at any storied American institution — McDonald's, New York Fashion Week, the Bush and Clinton families — trends come and go.

The 114th Congress is now 100 days old. And it can be difficult to keep up with the goings and comings of the body and its 535 members — the negotiations, visits from world leaders, the scandals and, oh yeah, the legislation.

So here's our look at what's in and what's out on Capitol Hill:

Have something to add to the list? Tweet @nprpolitics.

The Arts Connect People and Perspectives by Building Welcoming Communities

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the National Endowment for the Arts' blog. See the original post here.

Jane Chu and her parents.

As Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), I work with a dedicated and passionate group of people and organizations to support and fund the arts in communities across America. I believe what we do is so important, not just to celebrate and affirm the arts as a national priority critical to America's well-being and future; the power of the arts can be transformative and I've experienced firsthand how this works. My story is especially relevant today as the White House Task Force on New Americans has released its report to the President on recommended actions the federal government can take to build integrated and welcoming communities across the nation.

I was born into multiple cultures, often with seemingly opposing perspectives. Had I not been engaged with the arts, I don’t know if I would have been able to make sense of my own life.

read more

Saudi Arabia is Yemen's Israel: Hezbollah

BEIRUT: Hezbollah censured the U.N. Security Council decision to impose an arms embargo on Yemen’s Houthis Thursday, comparing the Saudi-led military campaign to the Israeli wars on Gaza.

“What Saudi Arabia is committing [in Yemen] is identical to what Israel commits in Gaza,” Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem told France 24 in an interview Thursday. “It is about attacking infrastructure and shelling civilians.”

The Hezbollah no. 2 said it was time for Saudi Arabia to “learn” and push for a political solution through national dialogue in Yemen.

The Security Council resolution adopted Wednesday imposes an arms embargo on the Houthi rebels and calls on them to withdraw from areas they had seized, including the capital Sanaa.

It was adopted after 14 countries voted yes with one abstention from Russia, which said the embargo should target the whole country.

“The Security Council decision in Yemen is unjust, because it looks at one part of the problem, and not at the whole [picture],” Qassem said. “The Security Council should have stopped the Saudi aggression against Yemen and treated the issues related to the civilians and wounded and destruction of infrastructure.”

“It was supposed to set the steps for a dialogue to reach a political solution. This, the Security Council has not done.”

Hezbollah’s parliamentary group, the Loyalty to Resistance bloc, also denounced the U.N. decision in its weekly statement Thursday.

“The catastrophic results and consequences on the stability of Yemen and the region have confirmed that the Saudi regime’s aggression against Yemen is a historic and strategic sin,” the statement said. “No unfair international decision could erase this fact or end the severe crisis in Yemen, even if issued under the 7th article.”

Qassem, who accused Saudi Arabia of committing genocide in Yemen, also sent an indirect message to Future Movement officials, referring to them as “the voices that act harshly and condemn our stand on Saudi aggression.”

“We understand that these voices have to take this stance because of their monthly budgets and their affiliation and relationship with Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Tensions had simmered between Hezbollah and the Future Movement recently, but Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was able to prevent a collapse to the ongoing dialogue between the two parties, which he sponsors.

The two groups are in strong disagreement over the Saudi-led military campaign. Future defends it as necessary to stop the expansion of Iran’s influence in the region.

Family mourns Lebanese expat murdered in Abidjan

BABLIEH, Lebanon: The wife and children of Ghaleb Shahin appeared in shock Thursday, one day after learning that the businessman was robbed and killed allegedly by his bodyguard in Abidjan.

Ten-year-old Ghiwa told The Daily Star that she could not believe the news of his death, explaining how she used to talk to him on the phone every day.

It has been one month since Shahin last visited Lebanon, which he visits regularly to spend time with his wife and two daughters.

Mohammad Shahin, the victim’s father, wiped away tears as he explained how his son was killed.

He said his son, who had been operating a coffee-transport company in the Ivory Coast with his brother since 1995, was robbed and murdered while carrying a large amount of cash.

The father said preliminary information suggested he was killed by his own bodyguard, who he hired for protection due to the high risk of being robbed in an area suffering from extreme levels of poverty.

“In Lebanon, politicians steal the public money,” Mohammad said with a face consumed by anger and grief. “If my son Ghaleb and youngsters like him had job opportunities in Lebanon they would never travel abroad.”

Fully dressed in black, Ghiwa and her sister Maha held their father’s picture as their mother wept inside their house in the southern village of Bablieh.

The village’s mayor Shahin Shahin said he was following up on the issue with the Lebanese community in the West African city.

He said Shahin’s body would arrive in Lebanon on Saturday.

Nusra mourns slain Lebanon militant as 'hero'

BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate the Nusra Front mourned Thursday Lebanese "hero" Osama Mansour, who was killed during a shootout with police in Tripoli last week.

In a video tribute posted to the Twitter account of the group's Qalamoun branch, Nusra called the notorious jihadi militant a “pure-blooded martyr,” displaying pictures of him in military fatigues holding weapons and footage from his funeral.

The video included a “biography” of Mansour that detailed his “jihadi career,” starting from his experience as a Lebanese Army soldier, to fighting his opponents in Syria and Lebanon.

Mansour and his partner Ahmad al-Nather were killed in an Internal Security Forces operation in the northern city of Tripoli last Thursday.

The ISF said the operation was meant to arrest Salafist cleric Khaled Hoblos, but Mansour and Nather were nearby and instigated a shootout with officers.

The two men were shot dead while still in their vehicle.

Nusra said Mansour was the first to “actually defect” from the Lebanese army when he saw that the military was working as a “puppet” of Hezbollah.

The video, which ended with a speech by slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, followed by footage of Mansour singing Islamist chants, said the militant “started military training at a young age.”

He fought in a number of locations in Syria including al-Qusair, a village opposite Lebanon's northeastern border which was re-captured by the Syrian army and Hezbollah in June 2013.

Nusra added that Mansour had experience in rigging cars with explosives, and that he also fought in the Tripoli battles pitting the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen.

Mansour was sentenced to death last year in absentia over an August 2014 attack in Tripoli.

He was close to Lebanon's top Islamist fugitive Shadi Mawlawi, and was wanted over plotting several attacks against the Army in Tripoli.

Al-Jadeed editor demands STL apologize for 'attack' on media

BEIRUT: The prosecution should apologize for targeting Lebanese journalists, Al-Jadeed news editor Karma Khayat told the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Thursday on the first day of her trial over carrying reports on alleged witnesses.

Speaking after prosecutor Kenneth Scott accused Al-Jadeed of endangering lives by airing a series of reports in 2012 disclosing personal details of alleged witnesses, Khayat said the court was waging an "attack on investigative journalism."

"The power is with you, but the right is with us, and he who has the right fears nothing," a defiant Khayat declared before the The Hague-based court set up to investigate the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The court is trying five Hezbollah members in absentia over alleged involvement in the Downtown Beirut blast, which killed Hariri and 21 others.

But last year, the court announced that it was also charging Khayat and Al-Jadeed's parent company, and Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar and its editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin, with obstruction of justice and contempt of court for reports carried on alleged prosecution witnesses.

The court has "diverted the path of justice" by going after journalists, Khayat said, insisting that it was the right of Lebanon's media to investigate how the country's $500 million in public funds spent to create the tribunal were being used.

Turning the tables on the court, she ran through a list of examples of when it released identifying information on witnesses that she said may have endangered their lives.

She also pointed out that other media have published secret court information without facing charges, attempting to show how Al-Jadeed is being targeted for actions that have been taken by the court itself and other foreign news agencies.

Lead prosecutor Scott should admit that journalists in Lebanon are as free as journalists in the West, Khayat added, calling on him to admit to the court that he made an error by prosecuting Al-Jadeed, and apologize.

In his opening statement, Scott said that freedom of expression had limits. He insisted that the case against Al-Jadeed had nothing to do with the right to criticize the court, saying there was wide space for criticism.

Rather, it was about protecting witnesses, their families and livelihoods, he said. Reports such as those carried by Al-Jadeed hamper the court's ability to gather and collect evidence, Scott added.

"No judge can say that this is the first time or a rare instance in which a journalist is charged with contempt of the court," he said, claiming that "most international tribunals have tried journalists for contempt, and most of them were convicted."

Scott presented evidence he said indicated Al-Jadeed’s intent to “undermine the court's work and intimidate its witnesses.”

Khayat has said that the reports on the alleged witnesses were carried to alert the court of leaks.

But Scott said leaks inside the court were never discovered, accusing the television station of a campaign to undermine the court by alleging leaks that did not exist.

"Maybe this information came from monitoring the witnesses and their movements, or from hacks, or from phone tappings. Maybe the information was stolen or collected from different sources and not one source," Scott said.

"But Al-Jadeed never confirmed that the information was leaked from the court. In fact the evidence will suggest that Al-Jadeed did not know where this information came from," he added.

He said that Al-Jadeed's broadcasts revealed identifying information of the alleged witnesses such as their voices, their vehicle license plate numbers.

"These alleged witnesses were contacted by friends and family members who expressed their worries over the broadcast," Scott said.

Defense attorney Karim Khan, who is representing both Khayat and Al-Jadeed, said the prosecution could not prove criminal intent since interviews with alleged witnesses blurred the faces of those individuals and withheld their names to protect them. He also noted that Al-Jadeed's decision to not release the full list of names of alleged witnesses also indicated that there was no criminal intent.

No alleged witness was ever threatened or had their life put in danger as a result of the reports, Khan added.

Throwback Thursday: Reagan Announces Run For President

Ronald Reagan announces his bid for president, Nov. 13, 1979.

Times in politics have changed.

Since it's the season for presidential campaign announcements, for evidence of just how much they've changed, look back 35 years to Ronald Reagan's announcement that he was running for president.

First, look at the timing. Reagan announced on Nov. 13, 1979. That's right. November of the year before the election. That would be as if potential 2016 candidates waited eight more months to declare. By the way, the first presidential nominating contest took place just two months later in Iowa.

Second, notice the optics. Reagan's team capitalized on his acting training, showing Reagan in a presidential-looking room (though it had 1970s-era wood paneling) complete with an American flag, big desk, and leather chair. During the 24-minute presentation, he stood up from the chair, leaned on the desk and sat back down — all while never breaking delivery. Today's video announcements are far shorter.

i

It's been 35 years since Ronald Reagan announced his run for president. He did so just two months before the Iowa caucuses, unlike the protracted campaigning that takes place today. WJZ/AP hide caption

itoggle caption WJZ/AP

It's been 35 years since Ronald Reagan announced his run for president. He did so just two months before the Iowa caucuses, unlike the protracted campaigning that takes place today.

WJZ/AP

Also, notice that Reagan said some things that might be considered anathema in present-day GOP politics. He touted that he was an "officer of my labor union," calls America "naïve, sometimes wrong," and speaking of coordination with Mexico and Canada, he said, "It is time we stopped thinking of our nearest neighbors as foreigners."

"It may take the next 100 years," Reagan said, "but we can dare to dream that at some future date a map of the world might show the North American continent as one in which the peoples and commerce of its three strong countries flow more freely across their present borders than they do today." (Bolding is ours.)

Reagan, like today's Republicans, called for cutting taxes for businesses. But In doing so, he argued that corporations are not people — unlike Mitt Romney and some current Indiana elected officials.

"Business is not a taxpayer," he said, adding, "Only people pay taxes."

Mostly Reagan's speech was an indictment of the federal government and planted the seeds for the modern Republican Party's ideology.

"The people have not created this disaster in our economy; the federal government has," Reagan said. "It has overspent, overestimated, and over regulated. It has failed to deliver services within the revenues it should be allowed to raise from taxes. ... The key to restoring the health of the economy lies in cutting taxes."

The video is also an indication of how much things have changed culturally. Notice this section on working women:

"Double-digit inflation has robbed you and your family of the ability to plan," he said. "It has destroyed the confidence to buy, and it threatens the very structure of family life itself, as more and more wives are forced to work in order to help meet the ever-increasing cost of living."

Times may change, but some things don't, like making subtle pitches to early states. Reagan, who was born in Illinois, and made his mark as a Hollywood movie star, also noted living in another place.

"For me," he said, "it has been as a boy growing up in several small towns in Illinois, as a young man in Iowa trying to get a start in the years of the great depression and later in California for most of my adult life." (Bolding again is ours.)

That's right — Iowa. Some traditions die hard.

For the record, Reagan lost the 1980 Iowa Republican caucuses to George H.W. Bush. Reagan wound up putting Bush on the ticket as his vice president.

Lebanon 2015 budget debate to continue next week

BEIRUT: The Council of Ministers Thursday agreed to continue debate on the 2015 budget next week, Information Minister Ramzi Joreige announced following a Cabinet session.

“Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil outlined the draft budget for 2015 in a detailed presentation,” Joreige told reporters from the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.

Joreige said the Finance Ministry is making an effort to reduce wastage in the general directorates of customs and real estate, which would have a “positive impact on revenue in the coming years.”

The Cabinet also tasked Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb to intensify his efforts on the issue of the stranded drivers in Jordan and the Gulf.

A total of 231 Lebanese truck drivers remain stranded in Jordan and Saudi Arabia after the closure of the Nasib crossing on the Jordanian-Saudi border.

Nine drivers kidnapped by the Nusra Front on the Syrian side of the Nasib crossing returned home Monday, ending a nearly two-week ordeal.

Sixty truck drivers were stuck at Jordan’s Jaber crossing, which is opposite the Nasib crossing.

As for the 171 truckers in Saudi Arabia, Chehayeb has said Riyadh was cooperating with Lebanon.

Participation of certain ministries in conferences abroad has also been approved by the Cabinet, Joreige said.

Absent from Thursday's meeting were Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour and Economy Minister Alain Hakim.

Advertisement

UN envoy says to press Lebanon lawmakers to elect president

BEIRUT: The U.N. envoy to Lebanon Sigrid Kaag said Thursday after meeting with country's Maronite patriarch that she would be pressing lawmakers to elect a president vote soon to end the 11-month-long vacuum.

“The patriarch underlined to us his grave concern about the protracted vacancy in the office of the presidency soon marking a one-year vacuum,” Kaag, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai at noon in Bkirki, seat of the Maronite church.

“We shared this concern, specifically that the 11-month stalemate in the election of the president of the republic is undermining Lebanon's ability to address the security, economic and social challenges.”

Kaag, who was accompanied by the heads of missions of the permanent Security Council members, in addition to Germany and Italy, said the presidential vacuum was jeopardizing Lebanon’s political institutions.

“We committed to sending a strong message to Lebanese leaders ... to act responsibly and put Lebanon's stability and national interests ahead of partisan politics,” she said.

Lebanon has been without president since May 25 of last year, when former President Michel Sleiman left office at the end of his term.

The country’s two main political camps, March 8 and March 14, have failed to agree on a consensus president. Neither coalition has enough members to secure a majority vote to elect a president.

Advertisement

Last Egypt aid plane to Arsal's Syrian refugees arrives

BEIRUT: An Egyptian military aircraft arrived in Beirut Thursday carrying 15 tons of medicine, food supplies, blankets and tents to Syrian refugees in northeast Lebanon.

The consignment was the last of three similar shipments by Egypt to Syrian refugees in the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The plane was met upon arrival at Beirut airport by Egyptian Military Attaché Brig. Gen. Mohammad Galal, representing the Egyptian ambassador, and embassy official Adnan Nassereddine on behalf of Egypt’s Social Affairs Ministry.

Egypt’s Charge d’Affaires to Lebanon Mohammad Badreddine Zayed announced last week that his government would donate three aid shipments to Syrian refugees in Arsal.

Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas announced last month that the country needs $2.1 billion in aid over the next two years to handle the high number of refugees without increasing the budget deficit.

Advertisement

Ministry shuts 2 nurseries in north Lebanon

BEIRUT: The Health Ministry Thursday said it shut down two nurseries in the northern city of Tripoli for failing to meet health and safety standards.

A ministry statement identified them as Oursons et Bonbons on Mina Street in Tripoli and the other as Itimad in the nearby Abu Samra neighborhood.

Last week the Health Ministry had also shut down three nurseries in the southern city of Sidon for various violations and in March the ministry had closed down 120 nurseries across the country for operating without a license.

Advertisement

Hacked Touchscreen Voting Machine Raises Questions About Election Security

i

Voters in Los Angeles County, Calif., cast their ballots in 2012. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Voters in Los Angeles County, Calif., cast their ballots in 2012.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Computer security experts have warned for years that some voting machines are vulnerable to attack. And this week, in Virginia, the state Board of Elections decided to impose an immediate ban on touchscreen voting machines used in 20 percent of the state's precincts, because of newly discovered security concerns.

The problems emerged on Election Day last November in Spotsylvania County. The AVS WINVote touchscreen machines used in precinct 302 began to shut down.

"One machine would go and crash. They'd bring it back up. Another one would crash," said Edgardo Cortes, the state's elections commissioner. "Starting in the early afternoon, they brought in a piece of replacement equipment that experienced the same issues when they set it up in the precinct."

Cortes added that elections workers had a theory about what had caused the problem.

"There was some interference," he said, "potentially from a wireless signal from an election officer [who] was streaming music on their phone."

When state auditors investigated, though, they didn't find that particular problem. Instead, they found something more disturbing. While using their smartphones, they were able to connect to the voting machines' wireless network, which is used to tally votes.

Other state investigators easily guessed the system's passwords — in one case, it was "abcde" — and were then able to change the vote counts remotely without detection.

Jeremy Epstein is co-founder of Virginia Verified Voting and one of many computer experts who had warned about the security flaws. He's not at all surprised by the state's findings. He said there's no evidence that anyone has ever tampered with Virginia's voting machines, but if they had, there's no way to tell.

Epstein said the vulnerabilities could be used to create a lot of mischief, "to change the list of races, change the list of candidates, change the votes that have been recorded, change the totals recorded, things like that."

The state board of elections found that risk unacceptable, and voted to decertify the equipment immediately. But the decision leaves officials in 30 counties and cities scrambling to find replacements, in some cases as early as June, when some hold primaries.

The good news, is that these machines — purchased over a decade ago — are no longer made or used anywhere else in the country. But the Virginia action comes amid growing concern that much of the nation's voting equipment is getting old and outdated and will need to be replaced soon.

Tammy Patrick is a former Arizona election official, now with the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C. She served on a presidential commission that studied the issue.

"We don't want to be yelling fire in the crowded theater," she said. "But you also want to make sure that the voting public still has confidence that their ballots are going to be counted as cast."

Patrick said the biggest obstacle for localities will be finding enough money to buy new equipment. And that's the challenge now for Virginia localities that had hoped to eke out another election or two using the old machines.

Fairfax City officials say it will cost them about $130,000 to replace the WINVote machines. And they're upset. They never had any problems, and the city's general registrar, Kevin Linehan, thinks setting up a new voting system too quickly poses a greater risk to voters than a hypothetical hacker.

"My most vulnerable aspect of running an election is having properly trained officers of election. I'm looking at a very short timeline getting my officers trained in a whole new system," he told the state board.

Karen Alexander also isn't sure what to do. She runs elections in Powhatan County and has a primary in June. Still, she thinks the state made the right move.

"I would feel very uncomfortable using the WINVotes," she said. "I wouldn't want my voters to know what I know and feel they had to vote on these machines. The security risk is too high. "

She said her county might borrow equipment from a neighboring county to get through the primary. Or, since only a few hundred voters are expected, they might count ballots the old fashioned way — by hand.

Army arrest 5 suspects in n.Lebanon, seize weapons

BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army said Thursday it had arrested five individuals, including two men suspected with links to terror groups, during raids in north Lebanon.

A military statement said the two suspects were arrested during separate raids late Wednesday on a sawmill and a grocery store in the Tripoli neighborhood of Beddawi.

It said an amount of rifles and pistols, ammunition, hand grenades, mortar bombs as well as communication devices and a variety of military equipment were seized by the Army after the raids.

The statement said three individuals were also arrested for attempting to hinder the Army’s effort and assaulting members of the military patrol.

The detainees were referred for interrogation.

Advertisement

Muddy rain coats cars with dirt across Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanese woke up Thursday to find their cars splattered with brown raindrop marks.

Dusty drops were also visible on windows.

The weather department at Beirut airport said strong winds will continue to swirl dust around Lebanon Thursday bringing muddy rain.

Winds on Friday will be much lighter, but showers will continue through the day, according to the report.

The haze and dusty weather were an effect of the recent sand storm in the Gulf region.

Advertisement

Auto check center protest causes huge traffic jam

BEIRUT: A protest over a salary delay at the Vehicle Inspection station in Hadath, east of Beirut, has caused a huge traffic jam.

The road leading to the center was choked with long queues of vehicles waiting to reach the station’s 36 inspection lanes.

The protesters resumed work at 10 a.m. after receiving a promise of payment by the facility’s director, Walid Younis.

Advertisement

7 injured in west Bekaa head-on crash

BEIRUT: Seven people were injured, some of them seriously, Thursday morning in a two-car, head-on collision in the western Bekaa Valley, a security source said.

The accident, involving a Volkswagen Golf and a Mercedes-Benz, occurred on the Ammiq-Ana road just around 8 a.m., the source told The Daily Star.

The source said four men were in the Golf. They were identified as Issam al-Dalnak, Ibrahim al-Dalnak, Ibrahim Abu Deeb and Zuheir Hamza.

Occupants of the Mercedes were not identified, but the source said they were a man, his wife and their daughter.

Lebanon lost a young and popular Lebanese actor Issam Breidy on Sunday when his vehicle overturned on the main Dora road east of Beirut.

Advertisement

Hariri to seek protection for Lebanon on U.S. visit

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will visit Washington next week for talks with senior U.S. officials in the latest of his regional and foreign trips aimed at shielding Lebanon from the repercussions of regional turmoil, political sources said Wednesday.

The sources did not give further details, but media reports said Secretary of State John Kerry is among senior U.S. officials Hariri will meet during his visit to Washington.

Hariri paid a short visit to Doha Monday during which he held talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani centering on the latest developments in the region, especially the Saudi-led airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Last month, the head of the Future Movement held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on visits aimed at reaffirming support for moderation in the face of Islamist extremism roiling the Middle East.

Hariri’s political activity comes amid soaring tensions at home between his Future Movement and Hezbollah, fueled by a bitter war of words over operation “Decisive Storm” launched by Saudi Arabia and a regional coalition of Arab countries on March 26 against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who overran the capital Sanaa in September and have expanded to other parts of Yemen.

While Hariri has vehemently supported the Saudi military intervention in Yemen, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has denounced Riyadh for spearheading the offensive and accused it of launching the war in an attempt to regain control over the impoverished Gulf country.

Nasrallah’s remarks drew a quick rebuke from Hariri and the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Saeed Asiri, who said that the Hezbollah chief’s comments contained false allegations and reflected the confusion of his patron, Iran.

Despite the escalating media campaigns, senior officials from the Future Movement and Hezbollah met Tuesday at Speaker Nabih Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence in the 10th round of their dialogue designed to defuse sectarian tensions, aggravated by the wars in Yemen and Syria.

Future MP Ammar Houri said the dialogue with Hezbollah has greatly reduced sectarian tensions in the country.

“The situation in the country would have been worse had it not been for the ongoing dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement. This dialogue has succeeded in greatly defusing tensions,” Houri told the Voice of Lebanon radio station.

Nasrallah is scheduled to address a Hezbollah rally in Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday to show solidarity with the Yemeni people against the military intervention.

While upholding his strong support for the Future-Hezbollah talks, Berri called Wednesday for a dialogue among Arab countries, saying Lebanon was ready to host peace talks among the warring factions in Yemen.

“Dialogue has become a dire need, more than at any time before, at regional and Arab levels to avoid further escalation of the situation and wars, especially with regard to Yemen, since all the parties concerned with this crisis have called for a dialogue,” Berri was quoted as saying by MPs during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at his residence.

Berri, according to the MPs, said Lebanon was ready to host reconciliation talks between the rival factions in Yemen to end the conflict there.

“If the problem lies in the venue of holding this dialogue, there are several options, including the Sultanate of Oman and Algeria. We are even in Lebanon ready to facilitate this matter and host this dialogue,” Berri was quoted as saying.

“Experience has proved that solutions can only be reached politically and through dialogue,” he added.

Berri also voiced hope for the release of Lebanese servicemen held hostage by the Nusra Front, Syria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate.

“There is a big possibility that [Lebanese] military personnel being held hostage by the Nusra Front will be released soon,” the speaker was quoted as saying.

Berri’s comments come after General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim returned from talks with Turkish and Qatari mediators in Turkey this week. Signs suggested an agreement in the works for the hostage crisis could see the imminent release of all 16 servicemen held by the Nusra Front.

Berri also said he would chair a meeting of Parliament’s Secretariat Monday to decide the agenda for an upcoming Parliament legislative session to act on a raft of draft laws.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah kept up its media campaign against Saudi Arabia over the military intervention in Yemen, ignoring Berri’s plea for the two rival influential parties to tone down their rhetoric.“The Future Movement’s links to the Saudi leadership and its attempts to please it and defend it will not make us keep silent on an aggression of this magnitude against a brotherly Muslim Arab people being subjected to this kind of crimes,” Hezbollah said in a statement. It added that the regime in Saudi Arabia could not be compared to Iran, “whose progress and development as a state and as a political system” has been seen by the world.

Hezbollah was apparently responding to Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, who lashed out at Iranian leaders by saying operation “Decisive Storm” was designed to liberate the Arab world from “Iranian domination.”

Machnouk said Tuesday that he who resorted to elimination, aggression and hijacking the wills of people would actually be humiliated. He was indirectly responding to a speech made by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last week in which he said that Saudi Arabia would be humiliated and would not emerge victorious in Yemen.

Separately, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea renewed his call on lawmakers to go to Parliament to elect a new president as the presidential vacuum has entered its 11th month with no solution in sight.

“There can be no state without a head. The solution is very simple and that is for [lawmakers] to go to Parliament to elect a president,” Geagea said during an LF ceremony Tuesday night. “We might get an ideal president whom we want and probably the opposite. But eventually, it’s better to have a state with a president rather than wait for a president who might come or might not come at all.” Geagea also called for the creation of an “e-government” as an answer to the country’s notoriously inefficient and corrupt public sector.