Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Lebanon's control of Syria border still tenuous
Sat Dec 20, 2008 7:53pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
WADI KHALED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Crossing back and forth from Lebanon into Syria is woven into the daily habits of Hassan Atiyeh and other residents of this remote border valley.
"If I don't go in the morning, I go in the evening," said Atiyeh, 27, a shopkeeper in the dirt-poor village of Knaisseh.
"Anything we have here is from Syria -- gas, diesel, bread. We can't live a moment without the Syrians."
Lebanon and Syria, which have never formally demarcated their frontier, agreed to work on this after forging diplomatic ties in October for the first time in their difficult history.
They have also agreed to cooperate on border security, a hot issue partly because Syria's foes complain that weapons supplies for Hezbollah -- which has re-armed since Israel's 2006 war with the Lebanese Shi'ite group -- still transit Syrian territory.
Lebanon is now tentatively seeking a better grip on its northern frontier with Syria, aided by Germany and other Western donors, but has not done much on its trickier eastern flank.
Little has changed for the 30,000 residents of Wadi Khaled, where 18 villages are sprinkled among sparse wheat fields and pasture in a northeastern pocket of Lebanon bulging into Syria.
"People are very poor. Some have cows, sheep or land, but otherwise there's no work," said Mohammed al-Hajjeh, who runs a small rock-crushing plant in Hnaider beside the shallow Kabir river that flows along Lebanon's northern boundary.
"The Lebanese army blocked the crossings here, but people open them again," he said, peering below his blue woolen cap at an earth barrier obstructing a dirt track to the river.
"The Syrian tractor trailers stop over there and the Lebanese trailers stop here and they transfer the goods."
But the 46-year-old father of 10 said times were hard even for smugglers, who once prospered by trafficking cheap Syrian diesel for sale in Beirut, Tripoli and elsewhere. Subsidy cuts in Syria and a newly introduced subsidy in Lebanon have eroded the price gap that made the trade lucrative.
Yet the lorries laden with Lebanese cement trundling slowly over potholed roads toward Syria, or parked in border villages, show illegal trade in another commodity is still thriving.
MANSIONS AMID POVERTY
And in sharp contrast to the mostly humble dwellings of Wadi Khaled, elaborate villas are also springing up, testifying to the fortunes made by the kingpins of the smuggling business.
"Some people profit, some don't," Hajjeh shrugged. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Belgium in limbo again after government collapses
Also on Reuters
Slideshow
Slideshow: A look back: the Lewinsky scandal
Retailers hope for crowds in final holiday push
Video
Video: Blagojevich: I am not guilty
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Don't destabilize Russia, Putin warns foes
Japan unveils economic aid, Belgian government falls
Obama's new pastor controversy -- at inauguration
Mother of Bristol Palin's fiance arrested
U.N. divided over gay rights declaration
Madoff scandal stuns Palm Beach Jewish community
Canada unveils C$4 billion plan to help auto industry
Shocking study finds most will torture if ordered
FedEx delivers ominous new twist with benefit cuts
Japanese group asks Google to stop map service
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Bush ducks flying shoes
Cyclone hits parts of Russia
Obama fills out cabinet list
Blagojevich: I am not guilty
Ships flag up warming Cuba relations
Auto industry gets lifeline
Israeli airstrike kills Palestinian
Bush shoe throwing game sold on eBay
Illinois Governor arrested
Zimbabwe deadlock deepens
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.