BBC By Hugh Sykes

Beirut is an essential listening post for journalists and diplomats trying to work out what is happening in Syria, and what may happen there next. The Syrian capital, Damascus, is 85 miles (137km) from Beirut. You can still get there by taxi. For $150 (£105). But unless you are willing to submit to (or perilously dodge) the severe restrictions of Syrian intelligence, there is little point.

A common belief in Beirut is that President Bashar al-Assad and his army, supported by Russian air strikes, will move on from driving the so-called Islamic State group out of Palmyra - and defeat them all the way to their headquarters in Raqqa. Several Beirut analysts I met believe Western nations have reached the reluctant (and so far unannounced) conclusion that the least-worst option for Syria is that Bashar al-Assad should stay on as president - supported by Russia and Iran, and by Hezbollah.

By Benjamin Zhang

The Mercedes-Maybach S600 is one of the finest luxury limos money can buy. The Maybach name returned last year after a brief hiatus as the flagship model of Mercedes' S-Class line instead of a standalone brand.

Now Mercedes has a new armored version of the Maybach called the "Guard" edition. According to Mercedes, the Maybach Guard is the first civilian vehicle to be certified with VR10-level ballistics protection.  That means the Maybach's body and windows are designed to withstand hardened-steel-core bullets fired from assault rifles.  And that's exactly what they did. The company published a photo of a bullet-riddled test car this week, complete with markers to identify each bullet hole. 

SAO PAULO – Washington Post - When Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer from Lebanese Origins complained to embattled President Dilma Rousseff that he didn’t like being a “decorative” figure, he was serious. Now he could take her job. Temer and Rousseff always made an awkward couple. As head of the centrist PMDB party, Temer represented the biggest force in the leftist Rousseff’s shaky coalition.

For years, the PMDB has played that kingmaker role, and it worked. But in March, the party voted to quit the government and go into opposition, supporting the rush to impeach Rousseff. Impeachment is edging closer, with a crucial vote on Sunday in the lower house of Congress, which will decide whether to push for an impeachment trial in the Senate. A last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court by Rousseff failed early Friday.

That leaves the dour Temer closing in on the interim presidency, as required under the constitution should Rousseff be suspended or removed from office.

Naharnet, The government is expected to agree on Monday on a solution to the controversial issue of the State Security agency, ministerial sources said. The sources told An Nahar daily that the government will likely approve the allocation of funds to State Security, which tops the agenda of the cabinet session.

The move will facilitate the discussion of other urgent matters following weeks of wrangling among ministers on the matter. The sources said that the government will likely approve the funds for State Security and form a committee to discuss ways to organize its leadership structure.