by Daily Star Lebanon – BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri Friday launched a promotional offer for mobile users who are university students in Lebanon. Hariri said in speech during a ceremony at the Grand Serail that the Lebanese state stands by its youth. “This is a vital and practical matter. Students who conduct research are […]

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh has said that the political crisis in Lebanon is a presidential election battle and not an electoral law debate, adding that the new presidential term didn’t achieve its purpose. “This is a presidential battle and not one to restore the rights of Christians,” Frangieh, the former […]

by Naharnet Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi held talks Friday in the Vatican with Pope Francis I and handed him an official invitation to visit Lebanon, the National News Agency reported. “The invitation is signed by Lebanon’s Catholic patriarchs and it follows another official invitation that was handed to the pope by President Michel Aoun during […]

by Daily Star:By Joseph Haboush President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri signed a decree Thursday in front of an audience of over 1,000 members of the Lebanese diaspora with the aim of encouraging them to reclaim their Lebanese citizenship. The decree was signed as part of the fourth annual Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference, […]

english.aawsat.com Beirut – Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on expatriates to return to their country and contribute to its reconstruction. Aoun’s comments came during the 4th edition of the “Lebanese Diaspora Energy” (LED) Conference, which kicked off on Thursday at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center (BIEL). The conference saw Aoun Prime Minister Saad […]

by Benjamin Sutton – hyperallergic.com Strollers along Beirut’s waterfront in the rapidly developing Biel area have been noticing an odd feature of the local landscape: hundreds of apparently ancient columns and capitals, piled piecemeal and left at the mercy of the elements. Lebanon’s General Directorate of Antiquities (GDA) confirmed to local French-language newspaper L’Orient Le Jour that they date from Beirut’s […]

by Josephine Deeb – Al Monitor

To some legislators’ consternation but to no one’s real surprise, Lebanon’s parliamentary elections have been delayed yet again for at least three months. On April 12, the day before parliament was scheduled to meet, President Michel Aoun
invoked Article 59 of the Lebanese Constitution, which allows him to
postpone a parliamentary session for one month. He may do so once during
the legislative term. Speaker Nabih Berri had called for the session to discuss extending parliament’s term, as members failed to agree on a new electoral law before a constitutional deadline expired.
Aoun wants a new law implemented before elections are held for
parliament, whose term ends June 21. He doesn’t want the legislature to extend its own term
without elections, which he considers illegal, but he also doesn’t want
a legislative vacuum. However, the constitution requires that voters be
given 90 days to prepare for an election, so — because of repeated
delays — one now can’t be scheduled before August at the earliest. In a televised speech, Aoun addressed the Lebanese people, saying, “I
have warned repeatedly against the extension since it is
unconstitutional and will definitely not be the path toward the recovery
of the government and its authorities and institutions on a sound
constitutional basis.”

Minutes after Aoun announced his decision, Berri set another session for May
15. In the meantime, Lebanese political forces continue their quest to
agree on an electoral law by then. Simon Abi Ramia, a member of
parliament’s Change and Reform bloc, told Al-Monitor that despite
differences between the parties, political forces seek to agree on a new
electoral law and his political bloc will strive to prevent a
parliamentary extension by all means. Aoun wants to replace the contested 1960 Electoral Law,
which is based on a majoritarian (winner-take-all) district electoral
system with limited exceptions. That law allows Muslim leaders to select
Christian parliament members in some constituencies. Aoun, a Maronite
Christian, along with Hezbollah
and the Amal Movement, are insisting on a “total proportionality”
system, while others want either a hybrid law or the majoritarian
system.

On the eve of April 13, the date set for the session to discuss the
extension, the specter of civil war came back to haunt the Lebanese amid
a sharp division of political forces and a serious threat by Christian political forces to take to the streets to prevent the session. They threatened to block the roads to prevent legislators from even reaching parliament.

BEIRUT, May 2 (Xinhua)  Editor: Mu Xuequan — Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called Tuesday the political parties in Lebanon to agree on an election law reform the soonest. He warned that the country is “on the brink of the abyss” regarding the electoral law issue. But he stressed that his party is not seeking […]