city:beirut

Syrie. Le point sur la bataille de Qoussaïr (21 mai 2013)

Où est Qoussaïr ? Ville située près de Homs, à quelques kilomètres de la frontière avec le Liban. Elle occupe une position stratégique. Elle permet aisément de rentrer et sortir du Liban.

Début des combats ? L’assaut de l’armée syrienne contre la rébellion installée à Qoussaïr a débuté le dimanche 19 mai. Il n’est pas terminé (1). L’armée régulière avait pris position dans les alentours depuis plusieurs semaines. Elle contrôlait depuis une dizaine de jours la zone d’al-Tal, qui domine Qoussaïr.

Qui combat ? D’un côté, des groupes de la rébellion qui contrôlaient la ville depuis une année (notamment la Brigade Farouk relevant de l’Armée Libre Syrienne) ; En face, l’armée syrienne assistée de combattants se revendiquant du Hezbollah et les Forces de la Défense Nationale (milice paramilitaire créée par le régime). L’aviation est intervenue. Il y aurait une centaine de morts des deux côtés.

Issue ? Tout le monde s’accorde à dire que le régime va reprendre le contrôle de la ville dans les heures ou jours à venir.

Réactions arabes ? La Ligue arabe a convoqué une réunion pour jeudi 23 mai pour évoquer la conférence internationale dans le contexte de la situation sur le terrain, notamment à Qoussaïr.

Contexte politique et diplomatique ? L’assaut de Qoussaïr est intervenu au lendemain du jour où Assad a déclaré qu’il ne quitterait pas le pouvoir (2). Personne ne croit que la conférence internationale, destinée à mettre fin au conflit par un accord entre le régime et la rébellion, puisse réellement se tenir début juin. Le fossé se creuse entre chiites et alaouites, combattant pour le régime, et sunnites qui forment le gros de la rébellion. Le Président Assad a récemment fait valoir que son gouvernement n’utilisait les services « d’aucun combattant extérieur à la Syrie, ni d’autres nationalités, et n’avait besoin d’aucun autre Etat arabe ou étranger » (2) (3) La participation du Hezbollah aux combats rend caduc la politique de non-intervention du Liban. Pire, le Front al-Nousra avait menacé, il y a plusieurs semaines, de prendre Beyrouth pour cible si le Hezbollah ne cessait pas ses opérations en Syrie.

Conséquences ? La chute de Qoussaïr permettra à Damas de reprendre le contrôle de la zone frontalière du Liban. Elle affaiblira la rébellion à Homs et ailleurs en Syrie. Elle offrira au régime la possibilité de choisir ses prochaines cibles. Elle modifiera la lecture des événements en replaçant les loyalistes au centre du jeu. Elle est susceptible de provoquer en Syrie des représailles à l’encontre des alaouites et des chiites (4) et de réalimenter les troubles à Tripoli entre alaouites et sunnites
1. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519124646578835.html
2. http://www.clarin.com/zona/Renunciar-pueblo-decide-quedo-EEUU_0_922107887.html
3. http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&catid=12&pageid=5835
4. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/syria-conflict-lebanese-border-qusayr.html

Attention, ceci est le sujet le plus controversé sur moment : 5 of the world’s best kebab joints
http://travel.cnn.com/where-find-worlds-5-best-kebabs-078311

Beirut is a cosmopolitan city where food standards are high.

When it comes to kebabs, Barbar is a Beirut institution. It’s a snack bar with branches throughout the city, but its flagship store is in trendy Hamra, where it takes up a whole block and overflows with customers night and day.

You can eat almost anything at Barbar and be happy, but the chicken shawarma is the tastiest pint-sized snack.

Lebanon is living a silent revolution | Opinion , Commentary | THE DAILY STAR
http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2013/May-14/216988-lebanon-is-living-a-silent-revolution.ashx#axzz2TLu0imvy
Très intéressant commentaire de Abdallah Salam sur le mariage civil et au-delà, la possibilité offerte aux Libanais de se défaire, administrativement, de leur affiliation confessionnelle.

More than any other, it is the Lebanese of the post-Civil War generation, my generation, who have won. They have been the most enthusiastic for civil marriage and will benefit most, in a practical sense, from what has now become possible. It is also a victory for Lebanese advocates of the rule of law, constitutionalism, and a culture of textual interpretation that accounts for the needs of an evolving society. Not least, it is a victory for Lebanese advocates of pluralism: the idea that all must be respected in their chosen way of life.

That said, removing reference to sect from state records, a process that began in April 2007, deserves at least as much attention as the civil marriage victory. Even though it is a simple and easy procedure, it is a highly significant one in Lebanon – a country that has known war, and continues to know tragedy, along sectarian lines.

By not declaring a sect to the state, a Lebanese establishes a direct relation to the state: as a citizen without a sectarian intermediary.

Of course, a Lebanese who removes the reference to sect from state records can still be religious in belief and social identity, and can maintain strong ties to religious institutions independent of the state. This was demonstrated by a prominent religious figure, Archbishop Gregoire Haddad, who removed reference to sect from his state records. In fact, when Lebanese started removing any reference to sect, a few bureaucrats mistakenly replaced it with the terms “no religion” or “no sect.” This mistake was corrected and now only a slash is written to indicate a decision not to declare one’s sect.

Alarmingly, the administrative practice in Lebanon is for individuals to be registered at birth by default under the sect that one’s father was registered under. This practice goes back generations. No Lebanese has ever been given a choice of not declaring a sect. Essentially, they were forced into sectarian administrative cages and thus prevented from coming together as one people.

These cages have now been unlocked. Lebanon has now been transformed from a state where 18 different sectarian labels are the most basic administrative categories to a state where “declare” and “nondeclare” are the two fundamental administrative categories.

#Liban
#confessionnalisme
#mariage

Le capitalisme du ciment au Liban
Cement firms assure profits with state cover | Business , Lebanon | THE DAILY STAR
http://dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2013/May-08/216247-cement-firms-assure-profits-with-state-cover.ashx#axzz2SafzAYur

“You cannot switch suppliers. We are their property,” one concrete manufacturer told The Daily Star. “They have split the market between them and no one exceeds their percentage of the market.

“It’s a proper monopoly, but this is like the entire economy of Lebanon. Everything has someone behind it.”

#Liban
#industrie

L’agence de presse iranienne Fars News Agency commente longuement la cybe-rattaque syrienne contre Israël.

Fars News Agency :: Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Israel’s Main Infrastructure (SCADA)
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107168206

The SEA said it has hacked into the Haifa infrastructural system at around 22:00 (local time) Monday night, underlining that the hacking was done in retaliation for the recent Israeli strike on a research center in suburban Damascus.

“We would like to announce that in response to the unfair and illegal attacks of Israel on DATE, the SEA has penetrated one of the main infrastructural systems (SCADA) in Haifa and managed to gain access to some sensitive data,” SEA said in a message left for the Israeli operators of Haifa SCADA system.

“Also, the SEA is now able to cause irrecoverable damage to the Israelis’ infrastructural systems,” it added.

Israel staged an airstrike on Syria on Sunday, hitting the Jamraya research center in the vicinity of the Syrian capital, Damascus. Syria said the Israeli regime had carried out the airstrike - the third in the last few months - after heavy losses were inflicted on al-Qaeda-affiliated groups by the Syrian army.

The SEA warned that it could cause a major blast by continuing the attack on the servers of the Haifa infrastructural systems, but avoided further move due to inescapable human casualties as it did not want a story like the recent accident in Texas which claimed the lives of dozens of the people.

“This message carries a serious warning to the Israeli statesmen. They should know that not receiving a quick reaction to such childish ventures does not show the Syrian inability in doing so, but it is based on wisdom and humanity considerations. We do not approve of killing civilians and innocent people as this is an Israeli type of solution,” added the message.

“Also an advice to those who left their homelands for many years, dreaming a happy and safe life, deceived by politicians whose deed is much far from their slogans; Do the best to express your objection to Israeli policies, since we do not like to see innocent people getting killed like in Texas, US, but this time in Haifa.”

The SEA has recently gathered a name for itself in the hacking market by successful attacks on a wide range of the western media, most notably the hacking of AP Twitter accounts and sending of bogus messages which wreaked havoc on stock exchanges. The hackers tweeted that President Obama had been injured in a bomb attack at the White House, causing a temporary 143-point drop on the Dow Jones industrial average.

In an apparent effort to cause disruption and embarrassment in the West and to spread support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the SEA has so far hacked the Guardian, the BBC (including BBC weather, BBC Arabic Online and BBC Radio Ulster), France 24 TV, the National Public Radio in the United States, al-Jazeera, the government of Qatar, E!, and Sepp Blatter, the president of football’s governing body Fifa, whose Twitter account was hacked.

Cybersecurity experts told the Guardian that the SEA attacks are designed to disrupt and embarrass the West and pro-Israeli lobbies, states and entities.

In the BBC case, the SEA, which emerged two years ago, hacked into the Twitter accounts of the British broadcaster and sent nine bogus tweets in an hour, including some with anti-Israeli sentiments, and others saying “Long Live Syria”, and the “Syrian Electronic Army Was Here”.

Guardian itself believes that the SEA attack was a reprisal for a number of leaked emails from the Assads and their inner circle that it had published.

Hours after the cyber-attack began, the SEA said it has targeted the Guardian for spreading “lies and slander about Syria” and said it was in a “state of war with the security team of Twitter”.

But this last cyberattack is certainly a boost in the platform of SEA operations as it required much more sophisticated knowledge and capabilities compared with the previous hackings; giving the Syrian Electronic Army the opportunity to rise to a different level of fame.

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) is a type of industrial control system (ICS). Industrial control systems are computer controlled systems that monitor and control industrial processes that exist in the physical world. SCADA systems historically distinguish themselves from other ICS systems by being large scale processes that can include multiple sites, and large distances. These processes include industrial, infrastructure, and facility-based processes.

Industrial processes include those of manufacturing, production, power generation, fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch, repetitive, or discrete modes.

Infrastructure processes may be public or private, and include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil defense siren systems, and large communication systems.

Facility processes occur both in public facilities and private ones, including buildings, airports, ships, and space stations. They monitor and control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), access, and energy consumption.

Hackers usually leave a couple of files for their colleagues to prove that their allegations are true. The SEA has left the following files on its website to show others in the hacking industry that it has had a successful security breach and hacking into the Haifa SCADA system.

Is Erdogan Calling for Jihad In Turkey ? - Al-Monitor : the Pulse of the Middle East
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/erdogan-baniyas-syria-speech-jihad.html

Is Erdogan Calling for Jihad In Turkey?

. Deux articles (le second ici http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/turkey-syria-policy-backfire-sectarian.html qui commentent en abondance un discours d’Erdogan avant-hier (le 5), discours qui semble bien inquiéter certains en Turquie...

Israel tells Assad it is not on side of rebels | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR
http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/May-06/216124-israel-to-assad-air-strikes-did-not-aim-to-help-syria-rebels.as

According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s biggest-selling newspaper, Monday, the Netanyahu government had informed Assad through diplomatic channels that it did not intend to meddle in Syria’s civil war.

Israeli officials did not immediately confirm the report but one suggested that such indirect contacts were not required.

“Given the public remarks being made by senior Israeli figures to reassure Assad, it’s pretty clear what the message is,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

[Oil & Gas Updates] : Weekly Roundup, May 6, 2013 | Middle East Strategic Perspectives
http://www.mestrategicperspectives.com/2013/05/05/oil-gas-updates-weekly-roundup-may-6-2013

Malgré la publicité en forme d’autopromotion qui lui fait le ministre par intérim Bassil, le processus d’octroi de licences d’exploration pétrolière et gazière au Liban reste marqué par de nombreuses incertitudes.

The map of offshore blocks still needs government approval, and, although unlikely, the next cabinet may decide to redraw or introduce certain changes to the boundaries of offshore blocks.

The model contract faces similar uncertainties. It is now available for pre-qualified companies to view and comment on. Comments must be submitted through the PA’s new website, also unveiled on May 2. The PA may then amend the model contract before submitting it to the Council of Ministers for approval.

Intéressante analyse de l’évolution des enjeux poliliques autour de cette question. Cette revue de presse hebdomadaire devient une source très intéressante.
#pétrole
#gaz
#énergie
#Liban

Brilliant Beirut | Light Research MMU | Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
http://www.lightresearch.mmu.ac.uk/brilliant-beiru
Le regard d’une jeune géographe, Marie Bonte

If you go out at night in Beirut, you might want to be careful about where you tread, so as not to stumble. With its uneven lighting levels, large areas of public space remain obscure. The weakness and irregularity of public lighting signifies insufficient public services in Lebanon, but contrasts with the reputation of the city as a party town.

http://www.lightresearch.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/map-300x176.png
#Beyrouth
#Liban
#électricité

Space for Culture, Time for Art | Atlantic Council
http://www.acus.org/egyptsource/space-culture-time-art

Space for Culture, Time for Art

Article très documenté sur les espaces culturels alternatifs - souvent des appartements - qui fleurissent au Caire et en Egypte.

Hassan Nasrallah a donné une allocution ce soir :
http://www.almanar.com.lb/adetails.php?eid=480039&cid=21&fromval=1&frid=21&seccatid=19&s1=1
une version en anglais :
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=91960&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=14&s1=1

1. Il a d’abord répété que le Hezbollah n’était pas responsable de l’envoi du drone (il y a quelques jours) au-dessus d’Israël. Il propose plusieurs responsabilités possibles, et suggère fortement qu’il pourrait s’agir d’une provocation organisée par Israël ou un de ses alliés pour justifier une attaque contre la Résistance.

الفرضية الثالثة ان تكون جهة غير صديقة وغير «اسرائيل» قامت باطلاق الطائرة من الاراضي اللبنانية او غير اللبنانية بخلفية ان الاسرائيلي سيتهم حزب الله وسيقوم بعمل عسكري مباشر ويقوم حزب الله برد دفاعي مباشر ويكونون دفعوا لبنان الى مواجهة بين اسرائيل وحزب الله.. فرضية رابعة ان تكون اسرائيل نفسها ادخلت الطائرة الى الاجواء اللبنانية واعادتها الى الاراضي الفلسطينة ثم قامت باسقاطها وهذا امر ممكن بشكل كبير".

2. Il a évoqué (ce qui était attendu) les rumeurs d’attaque israélienne contre la Syrie, des troupes massées dans le Nord d’Israël, comme évoqué hier par le Safir :
►http://seenthis.net/messages/134627

واعتبر ان هناك «مؤشرات مقلقة في المنطقة وهذا صحيح وهناك حشد في شمال فلسطين لكن ما زلنا نقدر ان هذه الامور مرتبطة بالتحولات في سوريا».

Il a averti : les forces du parti ne doivent pas être sous-évaluées, et il est prêt à répondre à toute agression.

واكد السيد نصر الله ان «من يتوهم ان المقاومة في لحظة وهن وضعف وضبابية وعدم وضوح فهو مشتبه وانا احذر العدو ومن يقف وراءه من ارتكاب اي حماقة تجاه لبنان لان المقاومة يقظة ويدهاعلى الزناد وتملك العزم والتصميم بالدفاع عن لبنان وكل الانتصارات التي حققتها المقاومة والجيش الشعب، وسنواجه اي عدوان باعلى درجة مما يتصوره احد وسننتصر في اي مواجهة مقبلة ان شاء الله».

Hassan Nasrallah a ainsi répété quasiment mot pour mot l’avertissement de l’éditorial d’Ibrahim al-Amine d’hier :
►http://seenthis.net/messages/134422

3. Il évoque les « martyres » du parti morts en Syrie, et dénonce la « surenchère » (il cite al-Arabiya) qui chiffrerait à plusieurs centaines les morts du Hezbollah.

4. Il propose son analyse de la guerre en Syrie : selon lui, le but même de la guerre est la destruction de la Syrie en tant que pays unifié, et sa transformation en « État raté » (failed state, disent les Américains) afin de la faire disparaitre de l’« équation régionale ». C’est une thèse qui circule beaucoup (que d’aucuns appliquaient déjà à l’Irak), mais n’avait pas encore reçu une telle visibilité (même si Noam Chomsky et Stephen Walt ont pu écrire des choses similaires concernant d’autres guerres étatsuniennes).

واعتبر السيد نصر الله ان «الهدف مما يحدث في سورية لم يعد فقط اخراج سورية من محور المقاومة ومعادلة الصراع العربي الاسرائيلي ولم يعد اخذ السلطة باي ثمن ، بل يمكن القول ان هدف كل من يقف خلف الحرب في سورية هو تدمير سورية حتى لا تقوم دولة مركزية قوية، وحتى تصبح دولة عاجزة حتى عن ان تاخذ قرارا متعلق بنفطها او بحرها او حدودها، فالمطلوب ان لا تقوم للسوريين دولة مركزية في المستقبل وتدمير سورية حتى تشطب من المعادلة الاقليمية».

5. Il a ensuite exposé les raisons (et les limites) de l’intervention du Hezbollah en Syrie : la protection du tombeau de Zeinab, lieu saint chiite, et des villages libanais en territoire syrien, menacés par les groupes jihadistes.

Là encore, ce point de vue du parti avait déjà été exposé dans le Akhbar sous la plume d’Ibrahim al-Amine :
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hezbollah’s-role-syria
et avait fait l’objet d’un commentaire d’Alain Gresh :
►http://blog.mondediplo.net/2013-03-25-Pourquoi-le-Hezbollah-participe-t-il-aux-combats

Si le message était déjà ainsi passé, c’est la première fois que le Secrétaire générale du Hezbollah reconnaît une intervention directe du parti dans le conflit syrien. Auparavant, il n’avait reconnu que des participations isolées de membres du parti à titre individuel.

6. Il a enfin évoqué le sort des pélerins libanais retenus à Azaz en Syrie et rappelé que les négociations avec l’Arabie séoudite, la Turquie et le Qatar n’ont rien donné.

7. Il a conclu en déclarant qu’il ne fallait pas entraîner le Liban dans le conflit.

Liban/ Syrie. Jabhat al-Nusra versus Hezbollah.

Le Hezbollah est impliqué dans la guerre de l’autre côté de la frontière libanaise. Il a parfois trouvé sur la route syrienne les sunnites du Front al-Nousra. Leurs escarmouches ont provoqué quelques victimes. L’article fait valoir qu’ils pourraient aussi s’affronter en terre libanaise même.

Hezbollah Prepares for Attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra in Lebanon
By: An Al-Monitor Correspondent in Beirut for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse Posted on April 26 (2013).

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/hezbollah-lebanon-perpares-attacks-jabhat-nusra.html#ixzz2Rsk4Y0Eb

“The latest statement released by Jabhat al-Nusra threatening to launch harsh strikes against Hezbollah, in Beirut in the city’s southern suburb and across Lebanon, is being taken seriously at the national security level and by Hezbollah.

It can no longer be denied that Jabhat al-Nusra has found fertile ground in the Palestinian refugee camps in the country, among the nearly one million Syrian refugees there, as well as in Lebanese Sunni areas, especially in northern Lebanon near the Syrian border.
According to sources close to Hezbollah, there are several possible scenarios that Jabhat al-Nusra might implement in Lebanon in response to the party’s participation in battles to protect the Sayyida Zeinab shrine in Damascus and expel the Syrian opposition from the strategic city of al-Qusayr and its countryside.

One scenario involves suicide bombers in public squares in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a predominantly Shiite area and a Hezbollah popular and political stronghold. Hezbollah recently ordered strict, yet low-key protective measures around mosques, hussainias and public markets in the southern suburbs. These include Hezbollah security members conducting night patrols in most neighborhoods accompanied by dogs trained to detect explosives” (...)

Article apocalyptique dans le New York Times : Islamist Rebels’ Gains in Syria Create Dilemma for U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/world/middleeast/islamist-rebels-gains-in-syria-create-dilemma-for-us.html

Across Syria, rebel-held areas are dotted with Islamic courts staffed by lawyers and clerics, and by fighting brigades led by extremists. Even the Supreme Military Council, the umbrella rebel organization whose formation the West had hoped would sideline radical groups, is stocked with commanders who want to infuse Islamic law into a future Syrian government.

Nowhere in rebel-controlled Syria is there a secular fighting force to speak of.

(C’est moi qui souligne cette dernière phrase.)

Ne pas se méprendre : ça ne veut pas dire que c’est plus vrai que lorsque le New York Times ment dans l’autre sens… Mon intérêt ici, c’est à nouveau de remarquer qu’il y a d’un côté l’habituel discours assez simple et binaire des dirigeants (avec spectaculaire alignement du gouvernement français), mais qu’il y a aussi, quasiment depuis le début, nombre de tribunes totalement contraires dans les médias. Certes loin d’être majoritaires, mais beaucoup plus forts et présents que pour d’autres guerres. Et ces discours hétérodoxes (pendant que les gouvernements occidentaux refont le coup des armes de destruction massive) débarquent au NY Times. C’est assez curieux.

Si tu es à Beyrouth ce soir, tu ne dois surtout pas rater les Fareeq el Atrash (#jeu_de_mot_maître_Capello). C’est au Sunflower Theater ce soir à 20h30.
http://www.beirut.com/l/23607

http://img3.beirut.com/GetImage3/mainpicture/event/23607/490x368?.jpg

Fareeq el Atrash is a live Arabic hip-hop band representing Beirut, Lebanon. The crew has been consistently rocking stages at center of the bubbling local Beirut underground scene since 2006. It is spearheaded by the region’s finest and most lyrical emcees: Edd Abbas and Cappuchyno, along with the country’s hands-down best beatboxer, live vocal effects man, and all-round entertainer, FZ.

Backed by the forever-funky veteran drummer Fouad Afra and founding member and bass player John Imad Nasr, Fareeq el Atrash is set to release “Al Mawjeh el Tarsha”, their new album, and expand beyond Lebanon in their quest to bring socially conscious music that moves crowds and is in tune with the times.

John Nasr, comme tu le sais, c’est quasi mon cousin.

How cities reshape themselves when trust vanishes - Ideas - The Boston Globe

http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/04/20/how-cities-reshape-themselves-when-trust-vanishes/Wl95av8KK4qYmIcxjTpHJP/story.html

BEIRUT — Everything that people love and hate about cities stems from the agglomeration of humanity packed into a tight space: the traffic, the culture, the chance encounters, the anxious bustle. Along with this proximity come certain feelings, a relative sense of security or of fear.

http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2013/04/18/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/NYC86372.jpg
A Burger King surrounded by blast barriers in Baghdad in 2008.
© Donovan Wylie / Magnum Photos

Over the last 13 years I have lived in a magical succession of cities: Boston, Baghdad, New York, and Beirut. They all made lovely and surprising homes—and they all were distorted to varying degrees by fear and threat.

#villes-en-guerre #urban-matters #adaptation

Si ces incapables ne sont pas fichus de démarrer une guerre civile, je vais la déclencher moi-même. Ici, le député du Courant du Futur Mouïn Merhebi sort sa Kalashnikov et tire sur les Forces de sécurité intérieure. (Vous n’en entendrez certainement jamais parler en France.)
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Apr-22/214594-mp-fires-shots-in-standoff-with-police-in-tripoli.ashx#axzz2RB4

Police said late Sunday an investigation is under way after Akkar MP Mouin Merhebi fired shots in a standoff with police near Tripoli, north Lebanon.

A statement from the Internal Security Forces said police set up two checkpoints Sunday afternoon as part of a crackdown on building violations in Badawi near Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city.

When Merhebi arrived at one of the checkpoints on the main Beddawi road at 7:30 p.m., he demanded its removal, arguing that the roadblock was causing a traffic jam, the police statement said.

It said Merhebi ignored the police’s explanation regarding the nature of the checkpoint and grabbed a Kalashnikov out of his car and began firing shots into the air after unleashing insults.

Then, Merhebi approached a military vehicle at the checkpoint in an attempt to remove it, but the driver refused and a scuffle ensued, the police said.

Admiratif, l’Orient-Le Jour précise dans le titre et dès sa première phrase : « tire en l’air ». Des fois que ce serait pas grave : Liban : un député tire en l’air pour se frayer un passage (mais au moins, l’OLJ n’omet-il pas de rappeler que ce monsieur est de nos amis du Futur).
http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/811192/liban-un-depute-tire-en-lair-pour-se-frayer-un-passage.html

Le député du Courant du Futur, Mouïn Merhebi, a tiré en l’air dimanche soir pour se frayer un passage dans un embouteillage à Tripoli, dans le nord du Liban, selon un communiqué des Forces de sécurité intérieure (FSI).

Dans les faits, une patrouille des FSI tentait d’éliminer une construction illégale dans la région de Beddaoui lorsque le convoi du député est arrivé sur les lieux et a demandé aux FSI de retirer le point de contrôle qu’ils avaient érigé et qui avait causé un énorme bouchon.

(J’aimerais bien en savoir plus sur cette « construction illégale », au passage.)

Entretien de l’ambassadeur saoudien à Beyrouth avec le Safir:

The Saudi flexibility coincided with the appointment of Tammam Salam to head the cabinet. This appointment appeared to represent the ’key’ that re-opened the closed doors between Al-Riyadh and the former majority forces and that froze the ’tourism veto’ against Lebanon by reactivating the Saudi and Gulf flights to Beirut. This raises several questions concerning the dimensions of this transformation and its future extent.

“Al-Asiri told As-Safir that the Kingdom is not in a state of estrangement with any Lebanese part ’and I have been in touch with all the domestic political forces ever since I was appointed in Beirut…’ Concerning his recent meeting with Minister Gibran Bassil, Al-Asiri indicated that the atmosphere was a positive one and ’General Michel Aoun is welcome and so is any other Lebanese figure regardless of its political affiliation.’ He added with a smile: ’Our relationship with General Aoun was severed for a while perhaps because when our brothers at the Free Patriotic Movement are angry with some domestic sides, their anger reflects on us. Now however, we are back to communicating with them.’

“What about the relationship with Hezbollah. Al-Asiri said that he is in constant communication with Hezbollah through different means. He added that the differences over some political ideas with the party is not a problem and is rather a healthy and natural thing… And on whether he expects to hold a meeting soon with a delegation from Hezbollah, Al-Asiri said: ’Our doors and hearts are open. The Party is welcome…’ And on where they stand with regards to the Resistance weapons, Al-Asiri only said: This is a Lebanese domestic issue.

Business et politique au Liban
Mikati, Safra in top Forbes Arab-rich list | Business , Lebanon | THE DAILY STAR
http://dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2013/Apr-16/213907-mikati-safra-in-top-forbes-arab-rich-list.ashx#axzz2QhZg0tLS

Najib and Taha Mikati occupied the 8th positions with $3.5 billion each while Bahaa Hariri, the eldest son of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was ranked in the 15th position, with a wealth of $2.4 billion.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s wealth was estimated at $1.9 billion, ranking him in the 26th position. His brothers Ayman and Fahed ranked 31st, with a wealth of $1.35 billion each.

Notre affaire Cahuzac est ridicule en comparaison...
#Liban

11 mois plus tard, les otages libanais en Syrie n’ont toujours pas été relâchés.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/families-kidnapped-lebanese-protest-outside-turkish-embassy

Families of nine Lebanese kidnapped in Syria last year set up tents outside the Turkish embassy near Beirut Tuesday morning after a brief scuffle with security forces.

They accuse Turkey of playing a role in their relatives’ captivity. In an interview with Lebanese-based Al Mayadeen TV, family members said they believed their relatives were being held with the Turkish government’s complicity.

They vowed to remain camped outside the embassy until the kidnapped men are returned to Lebanon.

An armed group seized 11 men in May 2012 as they travelled by bus through Syria on their way back from a pilgrimage in Iran. Two have since been released.

“For 11 months now we have been suffering from the absence of our kidnapped family members, and [Turkey’s premier Receb Tayyip] Erdogan, with just one word, can prompt the release of the nine kidnapped men,” Adham Zgheib, speaking on behalf of the families, was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.

Rethinking Informality: Design Tactics/Planning Strategies
City Debates
http://webfea.fea.aub.edu.lb/citydebates/2013

Titled Rethinking Informality: Design Tactics/Planning Strategies, City Debates 2013 will address the theme of informal spatial production as it materializes in different scalar levels and within multiple contexts of the Middle-East and beyond. By bringing together scholars, practicing planners and designers, as well as activists engaged in a reflection about the spatial production of informal settlements, their changing position in ever-growing cities, and their relation to both the agricultural and urban landscapes at the intersection of which they often stand, the event seeks to articulate a critical discourse about planning and design that goes beyond the traditional/professional understandings of these disciplines. Case studies will be taken from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt but also India, Columbia, Germany, France, the United States, and more to draw parallels across national contexts. In light of the centrality of forced population displacement movements in our region, special attention is given in refugee camps in the region.

The Evolution of Beirut’s Souk al-Ahad | Al Akhbar English
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/evolution-beirut%E2%80%99s-souk-al-ahad

Beirut’s Souk al-Ahad, the Sunday Market, has for 20 years been a treasure trove of all imaginable bric-a-brac and second-hand everything, from clothes to electronics to antiques. Recent months have seen the numbers drawn to the market multiply considerably, swelling the entire enterprise with heaving crowds.

Article accompagné d’une collection de photos:
http://english.al-akhbar.com/photoblogs/souk-al-ahad-i-people-and-treasures

Résumé. Si le Liban n’est pas une terre de djihad, les djihadistes n’ont jamais dédaigné utiliser le pays pour y conduire leurs activités. Ces dernières années, ils y ont notamment combattu les forces de sécurité libanaises (Bassam Kanj, al-Qaïda, 1999), se sont adonnés au trafic d’armes à destination de la Jordanie et revendiqué l’assassinat de Rafiq Hariri (Groupe Al-Nousra, 2005). Un ressortissant libanais faisait partie du groupe des 19 personnes impliquées dans les attentats du 11 septembre (Ziad Jarrah, pilote de l’avion qui s’est écrasé en Pennsylvanie). Certains d’entre eux continuent de jouer un rôle à partir des prisons libanaises ou des camps de réfugiés palestiniens (camp d’Ein el-Hilweh notamment). En 2007, les djihadistes palestiniens de Fatah al-Islam, retranchés dans le camp de Nahr al-Bared, ont combattu l’armée libanaise pendant plusieurs mois. Les Brigades Abdullah Azzam ont revendiqué des attaques sur les forces de l’ONU (FINUL/ UNIFIL). La guerre en Syrie contre le régime d’Assad a suscité des vocations libanaises. Des Libanais y ont rejoint des groupes djihadistes, comme le Front al-Nousra. L’auteur de l’article fait dire à l’un de ses interlocuteurs que le Liban pourrait devenir une terre de djihad.

Lebanon Is Pivotal For Syria’s Jihadists
By: Ali Hashem for Al-Monitor Lebanon Pulse Posted on April 9.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/contents/articles/opinion/2013/04/jabhat-al-nusra-lebanese-jihadists-rafik-hariri.html#ixzz2Q9zUDFzv

“It was not until Sept. 11, 2001, that people started talking seriously about the Lebanese connection to al-Qaeda. The name of Ziad Jarrah, one of the 19 men who took part in the Sept. 11 attacks, emerged and people started asking seriously then whether al-Qaeda was present in Lebanon.

In Beirut, I met Abu Baraa, a code name used by our source who was once an inmate of Roumieh prison’s Islamist building. He fought with Kanj in Dounieh, but now he’s doing nothing but “preaching Islam.” He saw several of his “brothers,” the word used by Islamists when mentioning comrades, working from the prison without any interference from Lebanese security forces. “We had phones, and I have recently learned that prisoners have Internet access now; they used to communicate with the outside world and give orders.” According to Abu Baraa, Lebanese jihadists should be grateful to the Palestinians for where they are now. Palestinian jihadists, along with a few Lebanese, had the chance “to go to Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, etc. … and come back more experienced, with a larger network, capable of tougher tactics, and they also helped in providing hideouts for the brothers whenever they needed it.”
Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are a busy hub for jihadists. Ain al-Hilweh camp in Sidon, southern Lebanon, is home to several groups — Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Osbat al-Ansar, Jund al-Sham and others are active groups which are now exporting experts to Syria.” (…)

#Lebanon #Syria #Hariri #Al_Nusra #Ahmad_Abu_Adas #Bassam_Kanj #al-Qaeda #Abu_Aisha #Osama_bin_Laden #Ayman_al_Zawahiri #Ayman_Kamaldine #Ziad_Jarrah #Islamist #Jihadist #Ain_al_Hilweh #Abdullah_Azzam_Brigades #Osbat_al-Ansar #Jund_al_Sham #Fatah_al_Islam #Nahr_al_Bared #Palestinian_camp #UNIFIL #Syrian_revolution #Hezballat #Khaled_Mahmoud

Protesters blocked from reaching French Embassy |
@GeorgesABDALLA

THE DAILY STAR

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2013/Apr-11/213388-protesters-blocked-from-reaching-french-embassy.ashx#axzz2Q9Mer

Riot police blocked the street leading to the French Embassy in Beirut Thursday to prevent supporters of Leftist militant George Abdallah from nearing the site.

Members of the Internal Security Forces closed off the Damascus road in both directions as a precautionary measure after pro-Abdallah activists called for a massive rally.

The decision angered many of the 61-year-old prisoner’s friends and supporters who gathered outside the French Embassy last Thursday, and warned that they would escalate their action if Lebanese officials fail to demand Abdallah’s release.

Last week, the French judiciary further delayed Abdallah’s release, arguing that he should spend a minimum of one more year in probation before parole can be admissible.

Rami Abdul Rahman’s Syrian Observatory for Human Rights - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/world/middleeast/the-man-behind-the-casualty-figures-in-syria.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=ed

COVENTRY, England — Military analysts in Washington follow its body counts of Syrian and rebel soldiers to gauge the course of the war. The United Nations and human rights organizations scour its descriptions of civilian killings for evidence in possible war crimes trials. Major news organizations, including this one, cite its casualty figures.

Voir
http://syriahr.com/en/index.php?option=com_news&Itemid=2&nt=1

#syrie #statistiques

Bahrain: Targeted Raids and Arbitrary detentions (HRW)

Bahraini authorities are carrying out home raids and arbitrarily detaining opposition protesters in advance of the Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend of April 19 to 21, 2013, according to information from a variety of local sources.

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/10/bahrain-targeted-raids-and-arbitrary-detentions