GENEVA (AP) — The United States and Russia early Saturday
announced a breakthrough agreement on Syria that foresees a
nationwide cease-fire starting next Monday, followed a week later
by an unlikely new military partnership between the rival
governments targeting the Islamic State and al-Qaida.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said shortly after midnight
that the plan could reduce violence in Syria and lead to a
long-sought political transition, ending more than five years of
bloodshed. He called the deal a potential “turning point” in a conflict that
has killed as many as 500,000 people, if complied with by Syria’s
Russian-backed government and U.S.-supported rebel groups.

The cease-fire begins at sundown Sept. 12, Kerry said, coinciding
with the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday. Kerry’s negotiating partner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov, confirmed the agreement and said it could help expand the
counterterrorism fight and aid deliveries to Syrian civilians. He
said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government was prepared to
comply.

“This is just the beginning of our new relations,” Lavrov said.

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: A Lebanese lawmaker has caused an uproar among activists following a statement in which he suggested that women are sometimes to blame for their own rape. “In some cases, we need to ask if women play an active role in pushing men to rape them,” Kataeb MP Elie Marouni said during a conference organized Wednesday by the Lebanese Democratic Women’s Gathering (LDWG) at the Zouk Mikael Municipality.

The conference centered on the abolition of the Lebanese Penal Code’s Article 522, which allows rapists to avoid prosecution if they marry the victim.

Responding to the remark, journalist and co-founder of women’s rights group FE-MALE, Hayat Mirshad, accused Marouni of offending every woman in the room.

“As a female Lebanese citizen, I am ashamed that people like you represent me in Parliament,” Mirshad told Marouni at the conference.

When asked later about Mirshad’s intervention, Marouni told LBCI that he “didn’t know what that woman’s name was” and that “the way she voiced her objection was inappropriate.”

“If only she had waited until the end of the conference, she’d have seen many women asking to take pictures with me,” he added.

by Donna Abu-Nasr  Lebanon’s economy remains resilient despite the political instability
that has prevented the election of a president for more than two years,
according to central bank Governor Riad Salameh.

“We’re doing
fine,” Salameh said in a telephone interview on Thursday, adding that
measures taken this year to boost liquidity have put the economy in
position to withstand challenges that include regional conflict and a
barely functioning government. Foreign reserves are at a record high
over $40 billion, the currency is stable and liquidity is adequate, he
said. Growth will range between 1.5 to 2 percent this year, maintaining
the 2015 pace.

Beset by sectarian crises and regional proxy conflicts, Lebanon has been
without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman’s term expired
in May 2014, as lawmakers haggle over a successor. Meanwhile, more than a
million refugees have poured into the nation — with a population of
4.5 million — to escape the Syrian conflict, which has blocked
Lebanon’s only overland trade route and kept Gulf Arab.

By Rebecca McLaughlin-Duane

Lebanese street artist Yazan Halwani was surprised to
receive a call from luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer six months ago, asking
him to become a brand ambassador.

“I don’t normally wear watches
but I’ve started now, of course,” the 23-year-old says. “Naturally, I
was very familiar with the brand and I’m glad that our collaboration has
been an open one – bridging two worlds if you like – creating something
relevant to both parties.”

Tag
Heuer commissioned Halwani to design a digital face for its Connected
watch, which allows the wearer to upload a variety of designs via its
touchscreen, in addition to thousands of lifestyle applications. Due
to be launched Wednesday night, just in time for Eid Al Adha, the
Arabic watch-face design will be available – via a dedicated Tag app –
to customers who buy a Connected timepiece, the prices of which range
from Dh5,550 to Dh37,000.

The
unveiling will take place on Wednesday during a private VIP reception
in Dubai, at the French restaurant Le Cantine du Faubourg, with Halwani
in attendance.

The
Hariri family’s pre-eminent role in Lebanese politics is being shaken
by a financial crisis at its Saudi construction firm, a development that
could dilute Sunni influence in the country and leave Iran’s allies
even more firmly in control.

The
troubles at Saudi Oger have led to a cash crunch and layoffs in
Lebanon’s Future Movement, the political party built with Saudi backing
by the late statesman Rafik al-Hariri and now led by his son, Saad.

The
party’s woes have led many analysts in Lebanon to ask whether Riyadh
may be cutting its losses in a country increasingly dominated by the
Iran-backed Shi’ite Hezbollah despite enormous Saudi efforts to counter
it over the years.

“We can’t deny
the existence of a financial crisis, which is a reflection of another
one that has nothing to do with the organization. It has an indirect
link to the crisis of Saudi Oger,” said Rashed Fayed, a Future Movement
official who is a member of its policy-making office.

By daily star Lebanon Victoria Yan

 BEIRUT: As summer comes to an end, the mass of tourists filling the bars and streets of Mar Mikhael slowly pack their bags and return home. Although the exact number tourists for July and August have yet to be calculated, Joumana Kebrit, director of the Research Department at the Tourism Ministry, estimated that some 664,000 tourists visited the country this summer. If accurate, the number would indicate a rebound from the dismal 2011-2013 period following the start of the Syria crisis that saw tourism to Lebanon plummet.

Her research concluded that Europe, other Arab countries and the United States rank as the top three sources of tourists for the country, but didn’t necessarily differentiate the large number of Lebanese expatriates or diaspora who return home on a foreign passport. There has also been a significant drop in the number of tourists from the Gulf in recent years as local travel restrictions discouraged many from visiting Lebanon.

Beirut’s popularity is not a new phenomenon. Lebanon has long held the image for Western visitors of Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando lounging in Jbeil in the heady prewar days. Nonetheless, their numbers have been significantly increasing in in recent years.

In July, top fashion magazine Vogue ran the story “4 Perfect Days in Beirut.”

The article’s author Alison Beckner told The Daily Star that she’s seen a lot of interest in Beirut when traveling in Europe. “In Both Paris and Athens – the two cities I spend a good deal of my time lately – there is a strong interest in Beirut as a city and an appreciation for Lebanese culture. I think this goes for most of Europe, actually.”

Reuters

A blast on August 31st,  which
killed one person in Lebanon last week targeted a convoy of cars
belonging to the Hezbollah-allied Amal party, parliament speaker and
Amal party head Nabih Berri told al Akhbar newspaper.

No
group claimed responsibility for the bomb blast on a road near the city
of Zahle, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Wednesday which also wounded 11
others.

Berri, a Shi’ite
politician, Hezbollah ally and one of most powerful men in the country,
said the explosion targeted Amal vehicles heading to an event in south
Lebanon commemorating former Amal party leader Musa Sadr, who
disappeared in Libya in 1978.

The relic of Mother Teresa, a vial of her
blood, was presented on the altar in a simple but beautiful wooden vial
embedded in the center of a cross. A large piece of the wood is of
Lebanon.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Vatican Radio provided translations and commentary from Father Tomas Rosica of Salt and Light
during the canonization of Saint Mother Teresa, which was celebrated
before a crowd estimated to exceed 300,000 at St. Peter’s Square.

The
crowd of thousands faced Italy’s heat to witness the canonization as
the choir sang proudly and Pope Francis opened Sunday Mass, which
included a reading of Mother Teresa’s life. The rite of canonization opened the ceremony and was a surprisingly short rite.

Pope Francis opened Mass with a prayer. The Holy Spirit was invoked from the beginning in a beautiful hymn.
 Cardinal
Angelo stated: “After due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine
assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother
bishops, we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Kolkata to be a saint,
and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be
venerated as such by the whole church.

Dubai: Lebanese expatriates living in Gulf states should not involve
themselves in the political affairs of their host states, Lebanon’s Army
Commander General Jean Qahwaji said on Sunday. He stressed that it was important Lebanon maintain good relations with Gulf counries, according to the Kuwaiti daily Al Anbaa.

“Qahwaji reiterated eagerness to keep the best
relations with the Arab Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
the UAE and Qatar, which are hosting thousands of Lebanese as he
reminded of their offering to Lebanon during its time of crises,” the
news site quoted him as saying. “We do not want to boycott (relations) anyone,
nor do we want to intervene in the affairs of anyone. I have called on
the Lebanese expats working in the Gulf countries not to engage in
political affairs of the hosting states. People of the gulf, mainly
people of Kuwait, consider Lebanon their second home. We are aware of
the magnitude of emotion they have for Lebanon and its stability and the
Lebanese have the same feelings towards them,” he said.