Policeman arrested in Bekaa for drug possession
A policeman was arrested at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint in east Lebanon for possession of cocaine and cannabis, a...
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Hezbollah condemns Nasrallah criticism
BEIRUT: Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s call for Yemeni dialogue during his Friday speech was ‘deliberately’ misconstrued in order to justify the Saudi-led military intervention in the country, the party’s public relations officer said Tuesday.
“The responses deliberately obscured the fundamental and basic idea underlying the speech, which was a call to the Yemenis to [engage] in dialogue and strive towards a political solution,” Hezbollah’s public relations chief, Mohammed Afif said in a statement released Tuesday.
Hezbollah’s “permanent position” is that of supporting dialogue in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain as a means of reaching political settlements for internal conflicts, he said.
Afif added that Nasrallah’s speech did not incite strife between the Yemeni peoples but confirmed the right of the Iran-backed Houthi rebels to “defend, resist and respond to the invaders.”
In further condemnation, the public relations officer sad that the responses to Nasrallah's speech were founded on unsound arguments that only served to create media hype and justify the “aggression” against Yemen.
The statement comes two days after the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri struck back at Nasrallah, saying the speech reflected the state of confusion of his patron, Iran.
Asiri also said that the speech “contained a lot of slander and false allegations against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to fallacies aimed at distorting facts and misleading public opinion.”
In a televised speech Friday, Nasrallah lambasted Saudi Arabia for spearheading a military coalition in Yemen against the Houthis. He accused Riyadh of launching the war in a bid to regain control over the impoverished country. He also criticized Saudi Arabia for failing to carry out similar military action to assist the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel.
Nasrallah’s speech drew a quick rebuke from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who dismissed it as “a storm of hatred against Saudi Arabia and Gulf states in response to the ‘Decisive Storm’ campaign against the Iranian infiltration in Yemen.”
Policeman arrested in Bekaa for drug possession
BAALBAK, Lebanon: A policeman was arrested at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint in east Lebanon for possession of cocaine and cannabis, a security source said Tuesday.
The source told the Daily Star Sgt. Khodor Zaidan, who hails from the Bekaa Valley town of Al-Ain, was arrested Monday after police found 2 kilos of cocaine and 4 kilos of cannabis on him.
His wife was also apprehended for attempting to conceal Zaidan’s smuggling activity from the Bekaa to Beirut, the source said.
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Indianapolis Mayor Calls On Legislature To Repeal Or Ammend Bill
Steve Inskeep talks to Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, a Republican, about the impact of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was recently sighed into law by Governor Mike Pence.
Hostage families drop protest escalation plans
BEIRUT: The families of 25 Lebanese captive servicemen abandoned plans to escalate protests Tuesday after receiving assurances that negotiations to secure their release were ongoing.
In a statement released after they had met with General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is representing the Lebanese authorities in the Qatari-mediated negotiations, the families said they were assured that the swap deal is nearly finished but requires further tuning.
“Gen. Ibrahim asserted that the negotiations are still ongoing and that the deal is complete, but a minor hitch remains and should be settled soon,” the statement said.
The families said Ibrahim contacted Nusra Front, which denied issuing a statement saying that negotiations were not advancing.
“We will suspend any escalation plans for the time being,” the statement said.
“We have confidence in the government which is striving to bring back its sons, and we thank Gen. Ibrahim and the government for all their efforts,” the families added.
They stressed that they have no intention to take negotiations into their own hands or to form a committee to establish contact with the kidnappers through the Qatari mediator.
The families took to the streets Monday, blocking part of Beirut’s downtown district and vowing to take unprecedented escalatory measures after an alleged statement by Nusra Front, which holds most of the hostages, claimed that dialogue with the Lebanese authorities was getting nowhere.
Nusra and ISIS are holding 25 servicemen hostage on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal.
More than 30 soldiers and policemen were initially kidnapped during deadly clashes between Army and militants in Arsal last August. Each of the two groups has killed two hostages, while Nusra has freed eight.
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Wahhab indicted over slandering Siniora
BEIRUT: Beirut judge Ziad Abu Haidar filed official charges Tuesday against Tawhid Party chief Wiam Wahhab for slander against former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, after Wahhab called the Future bloc head an Israeli agent, a judicial source said.
The source said the charges included slander and defamation in addition to harming Siniora’s reputation and political position.
Siniora filed the lawsuit earlier this month after Wahhab, a pro-Syrian former minister, said in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV that he was part of the Israeli project for the region.
Wahhab went on to say that “the only way Siniora could become prime minister [again] is if the Israeli plan succeeds in the region.”
Siniora later came under fire by Wahhab and other March 8 figures after launching a scathing attack on Hezbollah and its intervention in Syria, accusing the party of destabilizing Lebanon.
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Lebanon seeks $1B to cope with Syria crisis
Mar. 31, 2015 | 12:03 PM
Prime Minister designate Tammam Salam speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Thursday, April 11, 2013. (The Daily Star/Dalati Nohra)
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