Introduction to the evening news 10-06-2012

“Sectarian abductions”; this is neither a title from the archives of the Lebanese war nor a 37-year-old story. It is simply the description of today’s event in two words.       

In Lebanon today, a series of sectarian abductions were carried out between Wadi Khaled and the town of al-Massoudiya. Will the archives of the two-year war be brought back to life this year?       
This development emerged at a time when the case of the Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Aleppo stagnated after a hectic day yesterday.        

In Syria, Kurdish activist Abdelbaset Sayda who lives in exile in Sweden was elected as the new president of the Syrian National Council to succeed Burhan Ghalioun. Observers considered that Sayda’s election might get more Kurds to support the Syrian uprising, knowing that there are about one million Syrian Kurds. In his first post-election stance, Sayda urged all Syrian leaders to split from the regime, saying that the confrontation has reached a tipping point. He also reassured Alawites and Christians that Syria of the future will belong to all its citizens.