Lebanese army to completely control borders with Syria: British source

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BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- British diplomatic sources in Beirut said that Lebanese Armed Forces will have complete control over its borders with Syria in 2019, local newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported on Saturday. "The Lebanese Armed Forces have improved their capabilities over the past 10 years which turned them into a professional army able to protect Lebanon against terrorism on the borders and inside Lebanon," the sources said. The sources added that Britain has offered since 2012 a program to train and equip the four land border forces of the Lebanese army. "This program aims at allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to have complete control over their country's borders with Syria to prevent any illegal operations through the borders," according to the sources. They also noted that Britain has trained around 11,000 soldiers for military operations in populated areas and 7,000 on the borders.

Roundup: Lebanese companies eye role in Syria's reconstruction process

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DAMASCUS,  (Xinhua) -- Lebanese companies are opting to take part in the rebuilding process in Syria because of its proximity and the mixed social fabric with Syria. Lebanese companies have recently been active in taking part in the fairs that are being held in Damascus. Their latest participation is the undergoing Industrial Fair at Damascus' Fairground where the Lebanese companies have an entire pavilion. Roy Balian, sales manager of the Mega Prefab company for pre-made beton, told Xinhua that the Syrian market is promising given the fact that the reconstruction process in the country is around the corner. "Syrian market is big and promising in the future and we are coming from Lebanon so we are very interested in entering this market," Balian said. Balian believes that the Lebanese companies will have the priority in working in Syria, adding that the projects which his company is aiming to make are not yet executed in the country. "Lebanese companies will have the priority particularly in Syrian areas close to northern Lebanon ... so we are giving prices for a number of projects but nothing has been executed on the ground so far," he said. For his part, Hisham Zuraiq, representative of the Constra Cham company, said that his company is aiming to help in the rebuilding process in Syria as the Syrian and Lebanese people are more than neighbors. "We are interested in coming to Syria to take part in rebuilding the country after long years of war and pains in Syria," he said.

Zuraiq hoped that the Lebanese people could help their Syrian brothers to rebuild their country. "So we are hopeful that we can help the Syrian people in returning to the country as it used to be. We are one company but many more companies would come and take part in rebuilding Syria," he said. Meanwhile, Marwan Kalssei, head of the Miro Plastic company, said that the Syrian market is a huge one but the development is not fast in terms of the beginning of the process. "I think that the Syrian and Lebanese markets are one and we have a firm belief that the Syrian market will be active again so there are many Lebanese companies desirous for making business in Syria," he said. Kalssei added that "the development is not fast but ... it will become much bigger." The Syrian government has said that friendly countries would have the priority in the rebuilding process in Syria. As for Lebanon, the country's various political currents have been divided in terms of dealing with the Syrian war. Parties like Hezbollah are supporting the government, while others are opposing it. Enditem

Ancient DNA Reveals Crusaders Married Local Women And Had Families In Newly Christianized Lands

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by en.brinkwire.com -- From 1095 to 1291, Christian invaders fought against Muslim armies to claim the Near East in a series of religious wars that is now known as the Crusades. The armies of the Crusades were led by nobility, but the soldiers who took part in these historic invasions were ordinary men. A new study, however, now offers a glimpse of the lives of these Crusaders soldiers and how they mixed with the locals. Chris Tyler-Smith, a genetics researcher at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, and colleagues extracted DNA from the 13th-century remains of nine medieval crusaders. The remains were found in a mass burial pit near a crusader castle in Sidon, Lebanon. All nine men were killed violently, possibly in battle as suggested by the blunt force injuries found on their skulls and bones. The shoe buckles and a coin found with the remains helped researchers date the skeletons back to the time of the Crusades. Smith and colleagues then compared the newly extracted DNA from those of modern-day people and ancient individuals by analyzing mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes. They found that only three of the individuals from the pit were from western Europe. Four of the remains were also found to be genetically very similar to modern-day Lebanese people, which suggests these men were from the area.

Two of the men have a mix of European and near-east ancestry, which suggests they may have been the offspring of earlier crusaders or other Europeans who traveled and then settled to the region. “We show that all of the Crusaders’ pit individuals were males; some were Western Europeans from diverse origins, some were locals (genetically indistinguishable from present-day Lebanese), and two individuals were a mixture of European and Near Eastern ancestries, providing direct evidence that the Crusaders admixed with the local population,” the researchers wrote in their study.

The findings suggest that some of the soldiers who traveled from Europe to fight stayed in the newly established Christian states where they married local women and had families. Genetically diverse armies intermixed with the local population, had families, and even recruited them to their cause. “Genomics gives an unprecedented view of the past and shows the Crusaders originated from western Europe and recruited local people of the near East to join them in battle. The Crusaders and near Easterners lived, fought and died side by side,” Smith said. The findings were published in the journal American Journal of Human Genetics on April 18.

Impressions Of Beirut, Lebanon in Pictures

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 by onemileatatime.com -- Ben Schlappig (aka Lucky)

There’s quite a bit to see in the city itself, from the Pigeon Rocks to the Roman Baths to the National Museum of Beirut.

You can also visit a mountain in Harissa, with beautiful views of the coast.

'This has been a nightmare': Carole Ghosn, wife of ousted Nissan chief, fears Japan trial may be unfair

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by AP -- Carole Ghosn, the wife of former Nissan and Renault chief Carlos Ghosn, said in an interview that she is worried whether her husband, detained in Japan on financial misconduct allegations, will receive a fair trial, and expressed outrage over a justice system that dragged him back into custody. “This has been a nightmare. We’re devastated, our lives turned upside down. And we see no end in sight. For him to be rearrested, and he is on bail, that’s something unheard of. I’m shocked,” Carole Ghosn said Wednesday in a telephone interview from New York. Carlos Ghosn, who led Nissan Motor Co. for 20 years, rescuing it from the brink of bankruptcy, was arrested in November and released on bail last month, but was arrested again on April 4. His wife recalled the scene of his rearrest earlier this month, saying 20 prosecutors came into their Tokyo apartment at 5:50 a.m., when she was still in her pajamas, and seized her cellphone, passport and documents that defense lawyers had been preparing for the trial. Although such seizures might lead to a mistrial in the U.S., prosecutors are allowed such actions in Japan, legal experts say. Early morning arrests and raids are routine. “We are concerned about a fair trial,” she said. “They now know what we were planning as a defense, what evidence we have.”

He has been charged with falsifying financial documents in underreporting his retirement compensation and with breach of trust in dubious payments. He says he’s innocent, noting the compensation was never decided and saying the payments were legitimate. In a video prepared before his latest arrest, he accused some executives at Nissan of plotting against him over what he called selfish fears they had about his leadership and Nissan merging with French alliance partner Renault SA. Nissan has said an internal investigation found wrongdoing, ousted Ghosn from its board and promised to fix faulty governance. Ghosn’s detention has been approved through April 22, but that can be extended further. Prosecutors say the latest breach of trust allegations are new, and there is risk evidence may be destroyed. Carole Ghosn said she will return to Japan when her husband is released on bail. She said the conditions of her husband’s detention are harsh, using a term that refers to long detentions without convictions in Japan, “hostage justice.”

Like others who undergo detention in Japan, Ghosn is in solitary confinement, and is interrogated by prosecutors all day. He gets fresh air a half hour each day, but is not allowed outdoors over the weekend. Carole Ghosn said she was worried about his health because he has been weakened by the long detention and is not getting enough sunlight. She was also recently questioned in a Japanese court. She declined to give details, but said there was little substance to the questioning. She is not a suspect but agreed to be questioned voluntarily. She stressed that her husband is ready for a fight, and said she was proud of him. “When you’re put in a situation that is so unfair, it eats you up and you want to fight every moment that you can because he knows how unjust it is, and he knows he’s been stabbed in the back,” she said. “Anyone who is put in an unfair situation, you want to fight for your rights. You want to fight for your innocence. You want to fight to clear your name.”

Lebanese PM warns of catastrophe without austerity

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon faces catastrophe if the government does not agree what may be the most austere budget in its history, the prime minister said on Wednesday, urging national unity and saying everyone should be ready for sacrifices if necessary. Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s government is finalizing a 2019 state budget expected to follow through on its promise of “difficult and painful” reforms to put the public finances on a sustainable path. The budget is seen as a critical test of its will to enact reforms that economists say are more pressing than ever for an economy that has suffered years of low growth. State finances are strained by a bloated public sector, high debt servicing costs and hefty subsidies spent on the power sector. Small protests over the last two days against cuts have underlined the political minefield facing a government that has put off reforms for years. Some public sector workers went on strike on Wednesday. On Tuesday, retired army officers blocked highways with burning tires to warn against any pension cuts. “What is required from us as a government today is to carry out a budget that may be the most austere in the history of Lebanon,” Hariri told reporters after a meeting of parliament, saying the government must be “sincere” with the people. While Lebanon was not in “a state of collapse”, Hariri said that “if we continue like this we will reach a catastrophe”. Unlike other states that had suffered financial crises such as Greece, Lebanon would have no-one to save it, he added.