Kalashnikov rifle from a distance of 250-300 meters.

The most outrageous part of the story is that he (Muqdim ) "wasn't informed about the possibility of having a Lebanese helicopter flown in the region."

As if the army is obligated to ask Mudqim's permission to fly over Lebanese territories!!!

The question is where is Lebanon's sovereignty ?

Is this the resistance that we really want to protect Lebanon ?

Defense minister Elias Murr revealed back on 5 September, 2008 that Hezbollah gunmen opened fire at the helicopter when it was less than one foot from the ground and that Samer Hanna was shot in the head and chest from a very close range.

The helicopter incident created an outrage last September in Lebanon. Hezbollah was considered a national resistance movement but the incident painted the group as a criminal gang that is serving the interest of foreign regional powers ( namely Iran and Syria ) and its goal is to undermine the state by intimidating its institutions. The Lebanese media was attacked by Hezbollah and its allies for keeping the story of the incident alive. Many members of the media received death threats ... Hezbollah ally General Michel Aoun was criticized by the media for calling the helicopter incident "an accident".

Hezbollah turned over to the judiciary only Muqdim, but after investigating the incident the judiciary found out that 3 more gunmen were involved and asked Hezbollah to hand them over, but so far Hezbollah has not complied with the request . The question is when will Hezbollah hand over the other 3 gunmen in order to complete the investigation, because obviously Muqdim is not telling the truth!!!

Sunday

05:13 pm MP Maurice fathel ( father of MP elect Roberth Fathel) died 6 days before the end of his term

04:55pm Hariri told Egyptian TV: Consultation regarding the formation of a cabinet continue within alliances and up till now the PM designate has not been named

04:54pm Egyptian Prime Minsiter after meeting PM Siniora: Egypt reaffirms its support for Lebanon's stability and unity

04:34 pm The Lebanese army announced that 4 Israeli jets have violated the Lebanese airspace. It is expected that the Lebanese government will submit a complaint to the UN security council since this violates UNSCR 1701

04:22pm Qassem Hashem : The general direction of the country calls for unity and all are trying to identify the points at which they all agree

04:08pm Sheikh Kabalan supports the re-election of Berri as the speaker of the parliament

03:22pm Al Hikmet school and all its branches are closed Monday in observation of the death of Bishop Khalil Abi Nader

02:40 pm Pakradonian after visiting Berri at his residence in Ain el Tinah: We are with Berri for the speakership of the parliament and we are not opposed to Hariri as the premier of a national unity government

02:24pm MP elect Nadim Gemayel from Bkirki : we are opposed to the obstructing third because we are against obstruction of our national institutions

02:15 pm Hezbollah MP-elect Mohammad Raad: what is required is the serious and responsible resumption of the dialogue talks to protect all the Lebanese

01:50 pm Siniora after meeting Mubarak: The cabinet with an obstructing one third was an experiment for a limited time and until the elections. The experiment was unsuccessful

1:15pm Elected MP Suleiman Franjieh at a mass service commemorating the 1978 Ehden massacre against his family: Bkirki is called upon to speak justly and gather all Christians especially the Maronites

12:30pm FPM MP Walid Khoury to al-Jadid TV: Figure wise we are the most popular. However, we accept the final result of the parliamentary elections. I don’t consider Bkirki a political party, they have their own political opinion as we do too.

12:12 pm Israeli Foreign ministry is concerned about the meeting between Solana and Hezbollah

11:15 Beirut’s Maronite Bishop Boulus Mattar announced the death of former head of Beirut’s chief diocese Bishop Khalil Abi-Nader. Patriarch Sfeir is to head his funeral at St. George’s cathedral in Beirut on Monday afternoon.

11:00 Unknown assailants burned the vehicle of al-Mustaqbal Movement activist Nisreen Aql in her hometown of Labaya in the western Bekka.

10:30 Health Minister Khalife told LBC TV: We do not object if some wish to place conditions on the parliament speaker prior to electing him, provided that conditions are also put on both the president and PM prior to electing them.

10:10 Elected MP Oqab Saqr told VOL: Lebanon is governed by consensus no one fully wins and no one fully losses. There is no strike out punch victory and we extend our hand to Minister Elie Skaff in cooperation for development work.

10:00 AFP: At least 10 leaders of two Iranian reformist groups (Islamic Iran Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedeen Organization ) who backed defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have been arrested . " Rajab Ali Mazroei, a member of the front said
Among them were Behzad Nabavi, a former deputy parliament speaker, Mohsen Mirdamadi who headed the IIPF and parliament's foreign policy commission under Khatami, and Khatami's government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh. Mazroei also said ( former president ) Khatami's younger brother Mohammad Reza Khatami was possibly among those arrested.

09:55 The Islamic Action Front announced last night the death of its leader Fathi Yakan. He was 76 years old. In a statement, the IAF said Yakan passed away at 4:45pm in Hotel Dieu Hospital, where he was admitted on Friday night.

09:50 Siniora arrived in Cairo and started his talks with Egyptian president Mubarak

09:40 Hariri left Beirut and headed to Riyadh on a private plane on a private visit accompanied by Bassem el Sabaa

09:25 Sfeir : Thanks God the election took place without any major incident and we hope that a responsible government would be formed that will unite all the Lebanese around their country first and foremost

09:00 Al Rai based on presidential sources: The president sees no need for an obstructing one third in the new government and ois willing to provide guarantees to the majority and minority

08:44 Iranian foreign ministry : we don’t feel that the elections changed anything in Lebanon and we will be dealing positively on whatever the Lebanese agree between themselves

08:00 Siniora left for Cairo , accompanied by a ministerial delegation to discuss various issues including cooperation in the energy field

07:24 Al Balad : The dialogue talks could be expanded in order to discus the issue of strategic defense and other hot topics

06:48 Asharq al-Awsat was told by Ghada Eid : " I shall sue (FPM's MP Ibrahim) Kanaan for slander. He has the right to sue my guests if he wants to, but I will sue him for insulting me on air," Eid said.

06:37 INFORMED SOURCES: Franjiyeh's position regarding the government is closer to Aoun's than Hezbollah's

06:23 An Nahar : The majority leaders began the consultations over the government issue

06:12 Hezbollah's Abu Zainab in response to Ahmadinejad's re election : Hezbollah is thrilled with the Iranian democracy and the choice of the Iranians.
US rejected Ahmadinejad's claim of victory and accused the Iranians of fraud . Iran does not allow any international election monitors

Saturday News Briefs

5:39pm Arabiya TV: Powerful Iranian cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani resigns from his government position.

5:15pm National News Agency: Islamic Action Front leader Fathi Yakan has passed away at the age of 76. His body will be moved from Hotel Dieu to Tripoli Sunday morning.

5:04pm: Solana: "We are sensing accord among everybody and there are efforts that all Lebanese leaders must exert. The road to peace is a comprehensive process and requires efforts by all sides. No process is independent from the other. I will return to Lebanon soon in order to see if there is anything that the EU can offer."

5:00pm Solana at a press conference wrapping up his visit: "Hizbullah will be in Parliament and will bear responsibilities. Terrorist groups differ from one country to another and Hizbullah is a member of the Lebanese society."

3:50pm MP-elect Suleiman Franjieh told Reuters: The opposition completely refuses to take part in the government without veto power.

3:38pm Iranian interior minister confirms Ahmadinejad victory, Khamenei praises election

3:08pm Solana holds first ever meeting with Hezbollah MP

2:00pm Palestinian members of the alleged Hezbollah cell in Egypt have admitted to receiving training for several months at an Iranian camp in the city of Bushehr, prosecution sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat. The suspects also reportedly said that they moved between Cairo and Tehran through Damascus by changing passports with the help of Hezbollah members.

1:51pm Al-Arabiya: Presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi requests voiding Iranian presidential election results, declaring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad victorious.

1:10pm The Islamic Action Front denied that its leader Fathi Yakan had died. But it said that he was in critical condition. Yakan was born in the northern port city of Tripoli in 1933. He became involved in Islamic work in Lebanon in the mid 1950s and was a pioneer in the establishment of the Islamic Movement. Yakan was elected a member of parliament in 1992.

12:48pm A French diplomatic source told NOW Lebanon on Saturday that France is working with a number of Arab countries - including Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran - to foster a calm atmosphere in Lebanon and support the formation of a national unity cabinet.The source said France supported Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri as the next prime minister and called for re-electing Speaker Nabih Berri, despite acknowledging reservation regarding Berri’s performance over the past four years. The source also stressed the significant role Lebanon plays in Arab countries. The source expressed his concern that some parties would request an obstructing third vote in the cabinet, which they said was undemocratic and had been a failure in the current government. They also reassured Lebanese that France stands at an equal distance from all parties, including Hezbollah, unlike the US administration’s policy toward Hezbollah. “We are pleased with Syria’s decision not to intervene in the 2009 parliamentary elections,” the official said, adding, “this initiated an atmosphere of trust between France and