Negotiations regarding a prisoners swap deal between the Lebanese state and al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front reached the final stages as discussions are …

By: http://en.radiovaticana.va

Eight Lebanese parties, related to both blocs that for years have dominated the national political scene, have agreed to sign a document entitled "National Partnership to strengthen the state and fight terrorism" prepared and proposed at the initiative of the Political Commission of the Maronite League as a base to relaunch political dialogue and reactivate institutions paralyzed by conflicts and mutual vetoes. The document will also be signed by representatives of the Hezbollah Shiite party, those of the Lebanese Forces, the Future Party and the Free Patriotic Movement.

Watch the Prophet Trailer - Featuring Salma Hayek

Inquirr

The moment she made her breakthrough in Hollywood by playing Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, everybody became aware of Salma Hayek’s Mexican roots. Her physical features all scream of her Mexican descent, but who would’ve thought that she has Lebanese roots, too?

Recently, Hayek revealed her Lebanese ancestry as she promoted her new animated film entitled The Prophet. According to her, the movie was a labor of love dedicated to her late Lebanese grandfather who adored the 1923 book by Kahlil Gibran, which the movie draws inspiration from.

Associated Press:

QALAMOUN MOUNTAINS, Syria –  Here in pockets of the rugged mountains near the Lebanese border, the distinctive yellow flag of Hezbollah now flies where al-Qaida militants once held sway.

These gains in the Qalamoun Mountains represent a bright spot for embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, now reeling from a unified insurgent assault in the country's northwest. And again, they show the power and influence of the Lebanese militant group in Syria's civil war, grinding on into its fifth year after killing more than 220,000 people.

A team of Associated Press journalists traveling with Hezbollah into Syria found smiling Hezbollah fighters proudly showing newly dismantled booby traps and food quickly left behind by the Sunni insurgents as commanders promised further advances they say protect Lebanon. But in Lebanon, worries persist that Hezbollah's battlefield successes only further entangle the tiny country in Syria's violence, risking attacks back home as well.