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THURSDAY, 23 FEB 2012

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Today's Paper

February 23, 2012

Page 1

News >> Middle East

Death rains down on Homs

Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighborhoods of the city of Homs Wednesday.

News >> Politics

U.N. extends STL mandate for 3 years

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed Wednesday the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s mandate for three years.

Jumblatt shows support at anti-Assad vigil in Beirut

PSP leader Walid Jumblatt showed his solidarity with the Syrian uprising by joining protesters at a demonstration in Downtown Beirut Wednesday.

Sleiman, Mikati accept Nahhas resignation, decree’s fate uncertain

Hasan Lakkis

PM Najib Mikati and President Sleiman accepted evening the resignation of Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, a step that is expected to lead to the resumption of Cabinet sessions.

Page 2

Culture >> Lifestyle

Peddling photos of Beirut, man adopts city’s name as his own

Wassim Mroueh

Many visitors to Downtown Beirut know Saadallah Basha, but they don’t know his real name. They simply call him “Beirut.”

Take back your break with COlunching

Alex Taylor

If you’ve ever spent your lunch break alone or in front of a computer, maybe it’s time to take back the afternoon meal with COlunching.

Page 3

News >> Politics

Pietton: Lebanon should stay away from Syria unrest

The French Ambassador to Beirut Denis Pietton said Wednesday that France wants to ensure that the unrest in Syria won’t spill over into Lebanon.

FSA soldier in Lebanon discloses tactics

Nicholas Blanford

In a small cold house a few hundred meters south of the border with Syria, Khaled, a young fighter with the Free Syrian Army, patiently sits, cellphone in hand, waiting for a call.

Israeli envoy: W. Africa a Hezbollah power base

Israel’s envoy to the U.N. reportedly told the Security Council that Western Africa has become Hezbollah’s “power base.”

News >> Local News

Airport officials thwart bid to smuggle 4 kg of cocaine

Customs officials at the Rafik Hariri International Airport thwarted an attempt to export over 4 kilograms of cocaine through express mail to Australia.

Page 4

News >> Local News

Council prohibits racy TV shows before 10:30 p.m.

The National Audiovisual Media Council denounced the airing by Lebanese television stations of what it called “inappropriate programs” that include sexual content.

Mirza rules out imminent trials of Nahr al-Bared detainees

Public Prosecutor Saeed Mirza said “huge” amounts of work still had to be done to prepare the cases of those involved in the 2007 Nahr al-Bared clashes.

Mahfouz, MTV face off over controversial Israel coverage

Dana Khraiche

Head of Lebanon’s Audiovisual Media Council Abdel-Hadi Mahfouz accused the MTV station Wednesday of promoting ties with Israel.

Norway donates $2 million for Nahr al-Bared reconstruction

Stephen Dockery

The Norwegian ambassador to Lebanon announced Wednesday a $2 million donation toward the reconstruction of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp.

Anthony Shadid’s ashes scattered in Marjayoun

Mohammad Zaatari

New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid’s ashes were spread Wednesday afternoon in the garden of the house he rebuilt in his hometown of Marjayoun.

Teachers stage sit-in in solidarity with colleague

Teachers at Deir Zahrani’s public school in Nabatieh held a sit-in to protest an attack against their colleague who was brutally beaten up by three former students on school grounds.

Page 5

Business >> Lebanon

Stay close to your product and customer: ex-Nestlé chief

Mohamad El Amin

Former Nestlé chairman Helmut Maucher shared the secret of his success to attendees at a conference in Beirut Wednesday.

Salameh: Lenders capable of weathering risks

Governor Riad Salameh said that Lebanese commercial banks are capable of weathering any financial, political and security risks thanks to the conservative system adopted by these lenders.

Business >> Middle East

Syrian bankers face struggle to survive as turmoil spreads

Suleiman al-Khalidi

Unrest in Syria is causing chaos at the country’s banks, which posted bumper profits last year as a plunge in Syria’s currency boosted foreign exchange gains.

Page 6

Business >> International

Greece scrambles to pass laws needed to secure second bailout

Thousands of protesters angry at punishing spending cuts poured into Athens’ central Syntagma Square Wednesday.

Unsafe economy may force IEA to release oil

John Kemp

Political leaders in the US and Europe could soon face an uncomfortable choice between raising the pressure on Iran further or taking steps to safeguard their economies from the damage.

Page 7

Opinion >> Commentary

End the antiquated process of choosing a World Bank president

Devesh Kapur

Robert Zoellick will depart in June as president of the World Bank, once again raising the thorny issue of leadership of the Bretton Woods twins.

Opinion >> Editorial

Silenced sentries

Wednesday’s tragedies in Syria, particularly in Homs, provide an occasion to highlight several salient truths about the crisis under way in that country as it heads for its grim.

Opinion >> Columnist

Washington’s Syria policy is imaginary

Michael Young

The administration of President Barack Obama has often been ridiculed for what it describes as “leading from behind.”

Iran will bend when facing an unwinnable conflict

David Ignatius

“We are of the opinion that the Iranian regime is a rational actor,” said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last Sunday on CNN.

Page 8

News >> Middle East

Assad losing support among Syria’s Golan Druze community

Amy Teibel

Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad, appears to be losing one of his last bastions of reliable support: the Druze Arab community in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Homs divided and drained of residents

Lauren Williams

Sami groans in pain as he shifts his weight under a bundle of blankets on a stretcher bed in a makeshift hospital in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Trained in north Lebanon, Syrians return home to nurse wounded

Wrapping her face in a green and white Syrian “Independence” flag scarf – knitted by her mother – a woman describes her resolve to return to her native Homs in Syria to help tend to the wounded.

Page 9

News >> Middle East

Somali Islamist rebels lose control of crucial stronghold

Ethiopian and Somali troops captured a key Islamist militant stronghold in Somalia Wednesday, as the rebels left their positions.

Jordan opposition groups call for reform during Washington visit

Two Jordanian opposition groups called for constitutional reform in their country during a visit to Washington, denouncing what they said were corrupt practices under King Abdullah II.

Page 10

News >> International

Strauss-Kahn released after 2 days of grilling by police

Pierre Savary

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from police custody Wednesday after being questioned for two days in a prostitution case.

‘Third man’ may be kingmaker in French polls

Alexandria Sage

Francois Bayrou stands no more chance than before in his third try for the French presidency, but this time the center-candidate may win a bigger role as kingmaker.

Page 12

Culture >> Lifestyle

Eclectic shows close London Fashion Week

Sylvia Hui

London Fashion Week is winding down – but not before some of Britain’s brightest young designers showcased the inventiveness.

Scientists regenerate plant 30,000 years later

Fruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian permafrost have been regenerated into full-flowering plants by scientists in Russia.

Italian chef’s 3 Michelin stars shine in Hong Kong

Cathy Yang

Umberto Bombana’s distinctive flair for refined, regional Italian cuisine has taken him around the world and earned his Hong Kong restaurant three Michelin stars in 2011.

Japan construction firm eyes space elevator

A Japanese construction firm claimed it could execute an out-of-this-world plan to put tourists in space within 40 years by building an elevator that stretches a quarter of the way to the moon.

Page 14

Sports >> Football

Cameron seeks football racism action plan

British PM David Cameron asked England’s football leaders to provide an action plan to banish the recent reemergence of racism in the national sport.

Sports >> Golf

Yang Yong-eun draws first blood while Tiger Woods trails early on

Mark Lamport-Stokes

While three-times winner Tiger Woods was in early trouble, Yang Yong-eun drew first blood in Wednesday’s opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match.

Sports >> Basketball

Riyadi brush aside Hoops as fans watch from home

Kenny Laurie

Riyadi picked up an easy win in their first game in the Final Eight beating Hoops Club 90-64 in Manara.

Page 15

Sports >> Football

Marseille, Basel snatch last-minute wins

Kenny Laurie

Marseille and Basel both pulled off late winners in their Champions League second round first legs, beating 2010 finalists Inter Milan and Bayern Munich respectively 1-0.

Man City oust defending EL champions Porto

Manchester City eased past defending Europa League champion FC Porto Wednesday, beating the Portuguese side 4-0 to wrap up a 6-1 aggregate win.

Man United close on Europa League last 16 as they meet Ajax

Kenny Laurie

Man United’s march toward the latter stages of the Europa League looks set to continue when they line up against Ajax at Old Trafford leading 2-0 from the first leg in the round of 32.

Page 16

Culture >> Performance

A sensuous, unusually rollicking start

Jim Quilty

A lively dialogue stomped back and forth across the boards of the Emile Bustani Auditorium Tuesday evening.

‘Medea,’ an avant-garde exploration of love, betrayal and revenge

India Stoughton

Can you identify with a multiple murderess? “Medea,” a new play directed by Carole Abboud and performed by Lebanese-German actress Dana Mikhail.