DAILY SCOPE: Al-Assir Reveals More Information, Waste Crisis Swelling
Local Editor
NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES:
AN-NAHAR:
Warning Alarm of Health Disaster... Amid Vacuum!
AS-SAFIR:
Investigations Focus Today on Security, Political Ties
Al-Assir Reveals his Local Sponsors... Until Moment of Arrest!
AL-AKHBAR:
Where Did al-Assir Hide and How Did He Fall?
Khamenei: Dividing Syria and Iraq Will Not Happen
AL-MUSTAQBAL:
Waste Crisis: Abou Faour Warns of "Major Health Catastrophe"...
New Proposals for "Maritime Attitude"
THE DAILYSTAR:
Army to Start Grilling al-Assir over Deadly Attacks
Lebanese newspapers on Tuesday discussed different domestic and regional issues, setting the focus on the investigations being carried out with the terrorist Ahmad al-Assir who was arrested disguised at the airport earlier on Sunday, in an attempt to flee from the country.
Lebanon on Verge of Major Health Catastrophe --- AN-NAHAR
An-Nahar newspaper on Tuesday quoted Health Minister Wael Abou Faour as saying that "Lebanon is on the verge of a health disaster because of the crisis," adding "The ministers, and I am one of them, know well that we are at the verge of a major health catastrophe and I warn from the coming consequences.
He said that Lebanon's air, food, and water are at risk from the ongoing waste disposal crisis, urging the state to take "immediate measures" to resolve the problem.
Abu Faour also assured that the citizens are not responsible for ending the crisis, but the government is, he declared.
"The state should take the necessary measures and officials should set aside their political calculations," demanded Abou Faour.
Earlier on Monday, he remarked during a press conference that the option of exporting the waste is not possible, which should prompt the cabinet to take matters into its own hands. Regarding the garbage in Beirut, he demanded that it be removed near schools, daycare centers, hospitals, and the port, where it is being dumped by a nearby flour mill.
"My proposals will be relayed to the prime minister and crisis cells will be set up to manage the problem. If we are not able to act as a complete state, we should at least work as a partial one. We should not keep the citizens' health at risk," he stressed.
Al-Assir Reveals More Details on Hideout, Terrorists --- AS-SAFIR
According to As-Safir newspaper, terrorist Ahmad al-Asir told investigators that he hid in a neighborhood at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh after escaping from the Bilal bin Rabbah Mosque in Abra, a suburb of the southern city of Sidon, in 2013.
The General Security continued on Tuesday to question al-Asir as the investigation with him allegedly revealed that he had broken his ties with Fadel Shaker, a once-prominent Lebanese singer who turned Salafist.
Meanwhile, military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr told al-Joumhouria daily that the questioning of al-Asir, who was arrested at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport over the weekend, could last till Wednesday before his referral to the military tribunal for further investigation if needed.
Shaker, who was with al-Asir, was also hiding in the same neighborhood. But the detainee said that he broke his ties with him after the former singer contacted security agencies.
Abra was turned into a battle zone in June 2013 when al-Asir's followers engaged in deadly battles with the military following an attack on an army checkpoint. The army seized his headquarters after 48 hours of clashes that killed 18 soldiers, but al-Asir was able to escape with Shaker and several other followers.
Al-Assir Took Hide in Northern Lebanon. Ein al-Hilwe --- AL-AKHBAR
Al-Akhbar newspaper said al-Assir claimed that he had moved to northern Lebanon in the trunk of a car and had stayed at the residences of Sheikhs Salem al-Rafehi and Khaled Hoblos. He later returned to Ain el-Hilweh and tried in vain to join militants in Syria and to travel to Turkey.
Al-Asir's confessions have led to the arrest of several individuals linked to him.
A staunch supporter of the "ISIL" terrorist group, al-Assir was on a wanted list since June 2013 after clashes between his Takfiri followers and the Lebanese army claimed the lives of 18 soldiers in the Lebanese southern city of Sidon. In 2014, a Lebanese military judge urged the country's prosecutors to hand down death penalty to 54 Takfiris, including al-Assir and notorious extremist singer Fadel Shaker.
FPM Calling for Law Enforcement --- AN-NAHAR
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun denied on Tuesday that he is seeking to paralyze state institutions in an attempt to change the Taef Accord, saying his supporters' anti-government protests will continue.
"I totally reject this conclusion," Aoun said. "Those paralyzing the institutions are the ones not respecting the Constitution and laws."
"How could a decision be taken if we don't respect the law, the Constitution and the National Pact?" he asked in an interview published in An-Nahar newspaper.
Aoun, who heads the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, stressed that he is calling for law enforcement, saying "the Pact is the basis of governance in Lebanon."
He said that the recent street demonstrations held by his supporters are aimed at "giving back the patriotic rights of Christians, in addition to his ability to practice them."
Aoun also told An-Nahar that he did not want to change the government. "There is no possibility to form another one," he said.
The FPM has been for months announcing its rejection of extensions, calling for the appointment of new high-ranking military and security officials. Prime Minister Tammam Salam has not invited the cabinet to convene this week after ministers failed during a session last week to agree on any issue.
Source: al-Ahed news
