Police have shut down 3 night clubs in Lebanon’s red-light district, allegedly used as brothels, at the request of Mount Lebanon’s general prosecutor, a security source told The Daily Star Tuesday. The venues are among the 13 nightclubs and cabarets under inspection in Maameltein in the city of Jounieh. Authorities will later decide whether to shut down the remaining 10 after inspections are over.

The decision to close the venues came after inspections showed an alarming spread of different sexually transmitted diseases - such as HIV/AIDS - due to the lack of check-ups for the women working there, the security source said. LBCI reported Monday that authorities have recently discovered that 50 girls were being used as sex slaves at the 13 nightlife venues. The report said the cabarets will be forced to close, and girls transferred to different NGO’s.

By Natasha Bertrand

Syrian President Bashar Assad is growing only more defiant as negotiators prepare to descend on Geneva once again in an attempt to broker the terms of a political transition and end the five-year civil war. The opposition's central demand heading into the negotiations is that the embattled Assad relinquish his hold on power and cease bombing rebel-held territory. On the contrary, the regime will hold parliamentary elections on Wednesday and is evidently preparing a major new offensive to retake Syria's largest city, Aleppo, from opposition forces.

As such, it appears that Russia's attempt last month to force Assad into a corner — by announcing a partial withdrawal of advisers and warplanes — has backfired. Assad appears to have realized that Russia's reputation as a leader in the Middle East depends, at least for now, on maintaining the status quo and keeping the regime intact.

Ali Al-Amin

CCTV

•   Authorities say they have evidence Channel Nine paid for the abduction
•     Say they have a signed statement from a member of the 'recovery team'
•     Nine reportedly paid $115,000 for the operation, but this is unconfirmed  
•     CCTV footage shows two children being snatched off the street in Beirut
•     The mother, Sally Faulkner, has been arrested in Lebanon after the incident
•     Australian journalist Tara Brown and her crew also detained in Lebanon
•     They were filming a story about the recovery of two Australian children
•     Brown, producer Stephen Rice and sound operator are being held by police
•     The children's father, Ali el-Amien, slammed the alleged kidnapping
•     Mr el-Amien said it endangered the lives of Noah, 4, and Lahela, 5

The guardian- The partner of an Australian mother arrested in Lebanon over a bungled attempt to allegedly snatch back her two children says she is being “treated right” by authorities. Sally Faulkner is in custody in Lebanon along with a Nine Network TV crew and members of an international child recovery agency after an attempt to snatch back her children Noah, four, and Lahela, six, from her ex-husband, Ali el-Amien. Her current partner, Brendan Pierce, says he and the Brisbane woman’s family are coping with the ordeal and that Sally is being treated well.

By Roman St Clair