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Defense minister stresses Bekaa rocket attack drugs related, not political
Defense Minister Elias Murr stressed that the Oyoun Orghosh incident was tied to a drug trafficking operation with no political undertones.
“The issue is being investigated by the judiciary and the army,” Murr said, while urging people to refrain from politicizing the incident and blowing it out of proportion.
“The incident does not surpass a drug trafficking operation with no political undertones or political parties behind it,” he added.
Unidentified men launched rocket bombs and opened gunfire on a group of citizens in Oyoun Orghosh in the Bekaa over the weekend.
The Lebanese Army commando forces raided several houses in Oyoun Orghosh the next day and said they found a ton of hashish, illegal weapons and ammunition, and they arrested four suspects.
Media outlets close to the opposition on Monday accused the Lebanese Forces (LF) of being involved in the incident. |
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Political parties forge alliances as deadline passes for candidacy in municipal polls
Political alliances in the upcoming municipal polls were being mapped out over the past few days as the Interior Ministry announced Tuesday April 4, 2010, as a deadline for presenting candidacies for the Mount Lebanon district.
Following Monday’s announcement of an agreement between Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and the Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP) declared their alliance Tuesday.
“It is a new phase and page in relations between both parties, a page that was turned in May 2008 after a joint stance that saved the mountains from a national catastrophe,” PSP Secretary Sharif Fayyad said following a meeting between delegations of both parties.
Arslan, Jumblatt’s rival Druze leader, mediated talks between the latter and Hizbullah officials to put an end to the bloody clashes that took place in the Chouf between PSP and Hizbullah fighters.
The clashes broke out on May 7, 2008, in Beirut and spread out to the Chouf region following the Cabinet’s decision to dismantle Hizbullah’s telecommunications network. |
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Video shows deaths of two Reuters journalists in Iraq in 2007
One of two photojournalists killed in a 2007 attack by a U.S. helicopter gunship in Iraq was being rescued when the gunship's crew fired on the van to which he was being carried, according to footage posted online Monday.
Reuters photographer Saeed Cmagh survived an initial strafing by the Apache gunship's 30 mm machine gun, but he apparently died when the gunship opened fire on people attempting to get him off the sidewalk where he lay, according to the video. The aerial footage was posted by the Web site WikiLeaks, which said the video remains classified and "clearly shows the unprovoked slaying of a wounded Reuters employee and his rescuers."
WikiLeaks is a site that publishes anonymously submitted documents, video and other sensitive materials.
The gunship's crew requested and received permission to open fire on the van, which the crew believed was trying to evacuate wounded insurgents, the U.S. military later concluded.
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Hariri to visit Damascus to 'ink new agreements'
Prime Minister Saad Hariri is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Damascus on April 13 and 14, media reports said over the weekend.
Education Minister Hassan Mneimneh told An-Nahar newspaper in comments published on Sunday that the upcoming visit would work as “an effective start for reforming relations between the two states and rebuilding them on strong foundations.”
He stressed that the aim of Hariri’s visit to Damascus at the head of a delegation of ministers was “not meant to delete existing bilateral agreements but inking new ones that meet the interests of both states.”
Mneimneh added that the upcoming visit had been discussed between Hariri and Assad when the former visited Syria last December.
“Both sides touched on all issues including demarcating borders which lead to establishing relations that will be a sample for other Arab relations … what is important is to benefit from past experiences and study the reasons behind the flaws in relations between the two countries,” Mneimneh said.
He added that the delegation accompanying Hariri on his visit to Damascus would include a number of ministers, and that the purpose of the visit will be discussed in the Cabinet session next week although the item does not originally figure on the Cabinet’s agenda.
Hariri, who has for a long time accused Syria of being involved in rhe killing of his father former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14 2005, visited the Syrian capital in December during for talks with the Syrian president.
The visit was paid shortly after Saad Hariri became the head of a national unity government in Lebanon.
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Hizbullah, Amal finalize agreement on upcoming municipal polls
Hizbullah and Amal have finalized a comprehensive agreement over the upcoming municipal elections, said a statement issued by Hizbullah's media relations. The statement said that a concluding meeting was held between the Hizbullah secretary general's political aide Hussein Khalil and that of Amal's leader Ali Hassan Khalil.
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China rescues 114 from flooded mine
More than a week after their coal mine in northern China was flooded by a rush of underground water, 114 miners were pulled out alive Monday, China's state-run TV reported.
Rescuers worked to reach another 39 believed to be still trapped inside. CCTV, which carried the rescue efforts live, showed the miners being brought out in stretchers to loud cheers. .
The workers were wrapped in blankets and rushed to ambulances where they were in stable condition, local media said.
The miners were part of a larger group of 261 working in the Wangjialing mine when it flooded March 28. |
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