by Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday offered multimillion-dollar rewards for two officials of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah as the Trump administration prepared to unveil a strategy to counter Tehran’s growing regional influence. Washington will pay up to $7 million for information leading to the arrest of Talal Hamiyah, head […]

by Daily Star.com.lb Citing a senior military source, Al-Hayat newspaper said that in the coming week Lebanon would receive two of six Super Tucanos that the Army is set to obtain from United States’ support programs for the military. Lebanese pilots and support crew have been training in the U.S. for months. The source told Al-Hayat that the planes will travel to Lebanon from the U.S. by air, and will have to stop en route to refuel. It also added that “negotiations to strengthen the Army’s capabilities are in accordance with the plan prepared by the leadership.” It also noted that “Many countries have offered to provide assistance to the Army on several levels.” “The meeting held Friday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard and Britain’s Ambassador Hugo Shorter was excellent and promising,” the source said, adding that “military command presented the Army’s needs [in terms of] weapons, ammunition, equipment and expertise to the ambassadors.”

“[The request] received a positive response and willingness to approve it,” the source noted, reiterating that “Shorter assured the Army head Gen. Joseph Aoun that London had decided to increase its assistance to the army, stressing that his country is serious in enabling the Army to carry out its tasks, especially the preservation of borders.” Although there has been no official confirmation, the paper said Gen. Aoun was set to undertake his delayed visit to Washington “in the last week of this month” to meet with officials overseeing the development of military grants. The Lebanese Army was unavailable for comment on the reported trip Sunday. It was reported in April 2017 that Lebanese pilots in the U.S. had begun their first in-flight training on A-29 Super Tucanos. The planes will be the latest additions to the military’s small air force. Currently, the Army only operates a handful of armed fixed-wing planes – though those aircraft have seen heavy use. “It was [the pilot’s] first flight in the aircraft so it was a great opportunity for him to get oriented in the A-29 and how it flies,” an American trainer at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, where the squadron is based, said in a statement provided by the U.S. military at the time.

Sources close to the Lebanese security forces confirmed that the training happened as part of a routine workshop that takes place between Lebanon and the U.S. The current program aims to train 12 pilots and 20 maintenance workers to independently operate the aircraft. “These guys will be fully trained, operational combat pilots in the A-29 aircraft,” the American trainer said. Training began March 2017 and once the program is complete, the Lebanese Army will receive six aircraft, each armed with a pair of .50-caliber machine guns. The original deal struck with the United States also includes 2,000 “Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems” – laser-guided missiles that can be added to the A-29. The Super Tucano was originally designed for close air support missions, light attack missions, and reconnaissance.

By Amol Rajesh — As the humanitarian crisis of the Syrian Civil War claims thousands of lives in the Middle East, it has also costed the economies of neighboring countries billions of dollars, including Lebanon, said Raed H. Charafeddine, first vice-governor at Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban. “Taking into account an extended political deadlock, […]

By  Arab News –  A recent meeting of around 60 public Shiite figures in Beirut, including university professors, writers, journalists and business people, has triggered a series of negative responses on social media. The group said: “We are a group of democratic Lebanese citizens from the Shiite community, and our main concern is the establishment […]

khazen.org offers its prayers to the victims of Las Vegas. We pray for their family

By Business insider- At least 59 people were killed and more than 527 were injured Sunday night in Las Vegas in the deadliest shooting in modern US history. A gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, aiming into a tightly packed crowd of thousands below who were attending a country music festival. The shooter, armed with what appeared to be at least one automatic weapon, used the elevated vantage point to fire into the crowds across the Las Vegas Strip at the Route 91 Harvest festival, where Jason Aldean was onstage. Officers identified the shooter as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Nevada. They believe he was the only attacker, and that he killed himself before they arrived. Police completed a search of Paddock’s hotel room and his home in Mesquite, Nevada, which is around 80 miles from Las Vegas. At least 16 rifles were found in the hotel room, law-enforcement officials said during an afternoon press conference. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said investigators recovered an additional 18 firearms at Paddock’s home in Mesquite, Nevada as well as some explosives and “several thousand rounds” of ammunition. Investigators also found ammonium nitrate in Paddock’s car at the Mandalay Bay, and tannerite was found in his home, Sheriff Lombardo said. A SWAT team was preparing to search another home in northern Nevada.

Two broken windows near the top of the Mandalay Bay Casino, from which a gunman killed at least 50 people with an automatic weapon. AP/Business Insider

Soon after the shooting, which began at 10:08 p.m. PDT, a SWAT team stormed the building, forced their way into his hotel room, and found the gunman already dead. A statement from ISIS claimed that the attack was their doing, and that Paddock converted to Islam “a few months ago.” The FBI contradicted this claim, saying that Paddock had “no connection with an international terrorist group.” In a press conference Monday morning, Lombardo said the figures for the numbers dead and injured following the shooter may still increase.

A makeshift medical center in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, with the Mandalay Bay visible in the distance. Reuters

Who was Stephen Paddock?

Stephen Paddock was retired and had no criminal record before the attack, Reuters reported. He used to work as an accountant, and his brother described him to CNNas “a wealthy guy playing video poker … on cruises.” A Washington Post report characterized Paddock as a quiet man who occasionally came to Las Vegas to gamble or catch concerts, was a former resident of Texas, and held a hunting license in Alaska. Eric Paddock, the shooter’s brother, told CBS News that Stephen was “not an avid gun guy at all.” “The fact that he had those kind of weapons is … just … where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background or anything like that,” Eric Paddock said. “He’s a guy who lived in a house in Mesquite and drove down and gambled in Las Vegas.” Paddock was divorced, according to CNN, and his ex-wife resides in Los Angeles. The two divorced 27 years ago after a six-year marriage and have not been in contact in years, the report said. Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, the shooter’s father, was a well-known bank robber and on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list from 1969 to 1977, CNN reported. Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was a diagnosed psychopath, according to the FBI, and he was convicted of “bank robbery, automobile larceny, and confidence game.” Eric Paddock said he died several years ago. The bureau’s poster on the elder Paddock cautioned that he had committed armed robberies before, had “suicidal tendencies,” and “should be considered armed and very dangerous.” Stephen Paddock owned two aircraft and held a pilot’s license, according to the “Today” show. Paddock had worked for a predecessor company of Lockheed Martin, the giant defense contractor that builds planes. Lombardo said officers had spoken to a woman, Marilou Danley, described as Paddock’s roommate. She was outside the United States, he said, and officers believe she was not involved in the attack. “We have no idea what his belief system was,” Lombardo told reporters. In a subsequent press conference, Lombardo said “I can’t get into the mind of a psychopath at this point.” The Daily Mail quoted Paddock’s brother Eric as saying he and his mother were “in shock” and “dumbfounded” after finding out about the shooting. According to the Daily Mail, Eric Paddock described his brother as a normal guy who must have “snapped.”

How it unfolded

by Al bawaba – Canadian darling, Winnie Harlow, looked stunning in her lace maxi gown by top Lebanese designer Elie Saab for his SS18 fashion presentation during Paris Fashion Week. The supermodel never fails to effortlessly grab everyone’s attention and have all eyes glued to her. Saab choosing Harlow as his model is a clear […]

by David Enders –For a brewery that has been closed for more than 30 years, the Grande Brasserie du Levant has received outsize attention in recent months as activists and the famous architect working on its redevelopment trade barbs over its fate. In March, demolition of the five-storey building began in order to make way […]