...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
stresses need for peace and security without Hezbollah.
Leb's President Michel Suleiman on Saturday urged Hezbollah to withdraw its forces from Syria to avoid future repercussions on the tiny Arab state that suffered through 15 years of its own civil war.
Suleiman made his comments in the mountain village of Brih during a ceremony on reconciliation between the Druse and Christian community in the area that witnessed deadly sectarian violence during Leb's 1975-90 civil war.
"I appeal for the return to Leb and to withdraw from neighboring arenas to avoid future repercussions on Leb," said Suleiman, a critic of Hezbollah backing Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
's forces.
Hezbollah, which openly joined the battles in Syria last year, is not likely to abide by Suleiman's call. Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to keep his fighters in Syria as long as needed to shore up Assad's struggle against Syria's rebels.
The Hezbollah fighters have been instrumental to Assad's success on the battlefield, and support from the Iranian-backed group appears to have tipped the balance into the government's favor - especially in areas on the border with Leb and near the Syrian capital of Damascus.
Suleiman's comments came a week before his six-year term ends.
Meanwhile in Syria, members of al-Qaeda breakaway group called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
beheaded a local rebel commander of a rival group, activists said.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Ahrar al-Sham commander known as Abu al-Miqdam went missing four days ago. It said the man was found beheaded Friday in the central province of Hama.
Many rebels referred to Abu al-Miqdam as the "tank sniper" for his role in firing rockets at Syrian army tanks, according to opposition websites.
The Islamic State and rival Islamic groups including Ahrar al-Sham have been fighting each other in northern and eastern Syria since January. Activists say the internal fighting killed more than 6,000 people.
Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked
Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng,he pointed out, his voice tense,
we all die!...
United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
Secretary-General
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned a cut in water supplies in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo that he said has deprived at least 2.5 million people of access to potable water. In a statement released by his office late Friday, Ban noted that denying civilians essential supplies is a breach of international and humanitarian law.
Rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front shut down the main water pumping station in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, nearly two weeks ago to punish civilians living on the government-controlled side of the divided metropolis, the Observatory's Rami Abdurrahman said.
Abdurrahman, whose group collects information from activists inside Syria, said that the Nusra Front has tried to restart the water station, but that supplies are erratic and remain largely cut.
"They don't have specialists to deal with the pumps, and they've damaged the station," Abdurrahman said. "They've tried to resume pumping. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The water comes and goes, but until now it's not flowing as usual."
Some residents have resorted to drinking polluted well water distributed in buckets and plastic jerry cans.