by Al Jazeera — The Lebanese army said the blast occurred in a building in the southern village of Ein Qana, about 50km (30 miles) south of the capital Beirut, on Tuesday and that it was investigating. Hezbollah members imposed a security cordon around the blast area, barring journalists from reaching it. Hezbollah’s media office […]

by arabnews.com — NAJIA HOUSSARI — BEIRUT: Lebanon is “going to hell” if it fails to form a government, the president warned on Monday. A huge explosion on Aug. 4 at the Port of Beirut led to the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his administration. Mustapha Adib, the country’s 48-year old ambassador to Germany, was named as his replacement and tasked with assembling a new government. However his mission has stalled, not least because of a dispute over who will lead the Ministry of Finance. Hezbollah and its ally the Amal Movement want Shiite ministers in the cabinet, including the finance minister. The Free Patriotic Movement has objected to their demand and proposed naming ministers from small sects to assume key portfolios.

Lebanon “is going to hell if the situation remains as it is,” President Michel Aoun said. “Neither bullying one another will benefit, nor channeling foreign powers will help. Only understanding each other based on the constitution and balance will take us to stability and recovery. The rigidity of positions will not lead us to any result except for more aggravation, while what Lebanon needs most in light of all its successive crises is some resolution and solidarity so that it can rise and confront its problems.” An initiative from France stipulates that the government comprise specialists who are separate from the parties in power, that portfolios should be rotated, that the government be small, its work team homogeneous and that it carry out a specific reform mission. This mission, based on its implementation, would lead to crucial international aid that would bail Lebanon out of its economic and financial misery. President Emmanuel Macron gave parties a deadline to form a government. It was missed, however, and has been extended until Tuesday. Aoun proposed cancelling the sectarian distribution of key ministries, not allocating them to specific sects but making them available to all sects, and making the ability to accomplish and not sectarian affiliation as the criterion for choosing ministers.

by Deutsche Welle — egyptindependent — While traffic seethed elsewhere in the city, crowds of angry people moved through central Beirut in protest at a government blamed for the devastating August 4 blast. By the following weekend, security forces submerged the city center in tear gas. At Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square, people fled from violent clashes with police and retreated amid the turmoil. Cries of “We are oppressed in our own country,” came from the crowd. Their voices were female. Everybody in Lebanon knows the slogan refers to foreign influence and a corrupt, typically male, ruling class. But for women it takes on an added layer of meaning.

‘The revolution was, and is, female’ Lebanon was already suffering from an array of distress: an economic crisis, long-standing protests against corruption and a sectarian system of patronage — then came the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port last month. The high number of women involved in the struggle against those challenges is striking. The women among the protest movement show particular courage and strength and are often at the forefront of demonstrations. Almost half of the protesters at Martyrs’ Square following the blast were female. Driving the uprising forward, many of the younger ones arrived in tight jeans and short tops. “The revolution was, and is, female,” said 60-year-old Laila Zahed, grinning. She has been to almost every demonstration since protests began on October 17 last year. On several occasions women stood between soldiers ready to fire and angry demonstrators, so that violence would not break out, she said.

(MENAFN – Daily News Egypt) Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has met with the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, to discuss the latest updates on the situation in Lebanon. The meeting, which was held during Kubis’ visit to Cairo on Sunday and which saw the UN representative brief Shoukry on the latest updates in Lebanon, also reviewed the means of supporting the Lebanese people through the country’s current crisis. A statement by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ahmed Hafez noted that Shoukry stressed Egypt’s steadfast position in supporting Lebanon’s security and stability. Shoukry also highlighted the importance of continued support for Lebanon as it overcomes its current crisis. The minister expressed confidence in the Lebanese people’s ability to overcome the challenges posed by the Beirut port explosion that occurred in early August. Shoukry visited Lebanon last month, following the explosion, to take part in discussions with Lebanese officials on supporting the country through the fallout of the explosion.

عظة البطريرك الكردينال مار بشاره بطرس الراعي الأحد الأوَّل بعد عيد الصَّليب: طلب إبني زبدى دير سيّدة إيليج – الأحد 20 أيلول

2020 “لأنَّ ابنَ الإنسان لم يأتِ ليُخدَم بل ليَخدُمَ، ويَبذُلَ نفسَهُ فِداءً عن كثيرِين” (مر 45:10) 1. ربُّنا يسوع المسيح، إبنُ الله الازليّ الذي صار ابنَ الانسان في الزمن، جاء أرضَنا ليفتديَ بموته على الصَّليب خطايا البشريَّة جمعاء، ويَبعثَ في الإنسان، بقيامته، الحياةَ الجديدة. فتركَ للعالمِ نهجًا جديدًا من أجل استمراريَّةِ عمل الفداء، وانبعاثِ الحياة الإلهيَّة في كلِّ شخصٍ يولَد في العالم. هذا النهج كشفَهُ ليعقوب ويوحنَّا، داعيًا إيَّاهما إلى شُربِ كأس الألم معه، والاصطباغ بمعموديَّة الدمّ، “لأنَّه هو – ابنَ الإنسان- لم يأتِ ليُخدَم، بل ليَخدُم، ويَبذُل نفسَه فداءً عن كثيرين” (مر 45:10). إنَّه نهج الخدمةِ المتفانية وبذلِ الذات، نهجُ الشُّهداء بامتياز، على مرِّ العصور. 2. ها نحن نواصِلُ تقليدًا في سنتِهِ الرَّابعة والعشرين، ونحتفل بالذَّبيحة الإلهيَّة إحياءً لشهداء المقاومة اللُّبنانيَّة الخمسة آلاف الذين ضحَّوا بنفوسهم من أجل حماية الإيمان المسيحيّ والوطن لبنان دون سواه، ودُوِّنت أسماؤهم في هذا المكان المقدَّس، وقد سبقَهُم بطاركتُنا القدِّيسون الذين عاشوا هنا بحماية سيّدة إيليج، مدَّة ثلاثماية وأربع وعشرين سنة، من 1120 إلى 1444 في كلِّ عهد المماليك المظلِم حتَّى بدايات الأمبراطوريَّة العثمانيَّة الصَّعبة، ومن بين هؤلاء البطريرك الشَّهيد جبرايل حجولا الذي أُحرِق حيًّا في ساحة طرابلس.

إنَّ شهداء المقاومة اللُّبنانيَّة أرووا تراب الوطن بدمائهم، ليُثمر مواطنين مؤمنين مخلصين يشمخون بكرامتهم مثل غابة الأرز هذه التي غُرسَت إحياءً لذكرى المئة والستَّة وثلاثين شهيدًا راقدين هنا في مدافن الشهداء. 3. أودُّ أن أحيّي معكم رابطة سيّدة إيليج التي، مع رئيس دير سيّدة ميفوق ودير مار شليطا القطارة والآباء، تعتني بهذا المقرّ البطريركيّ، وتحيي ذكرى الشُّهداء، وتعمل على المحافظة على ذاكرة المقاومة اللُبنانيَّة وتراثِها الفكريّ وولائِها للبنان الوطن الغالي الذي منه تنبع الكرامة، وشرفُ الانتماء إليه دون سواه، والتَّضحيةُ في سبيل إعلاءِ شأنه دولةً وكيانًا وشعبًا أبيًّا. وقد جسَّدَ كلَّ ذلك الرئيسُ الشَّهيد الشيخ بشير الجميّل، فأضحى فخرَ الشُّهداء. ٤. إختارت رابطة إيليج شعارًا لهذا الاحتفال: “أمِّي وطني” تكريمًا لأمَّهاتِ الشُّهداء، ولكلِّ أمٍّ تتفانى في سبيل عائلتها، وتكرِّمُ الرَّابطةُ ثلاثًا منهنَّ أنجبنَ، واحدة أحد عشر ولدًا واثنتان اثني عشر، للدَّلالة أنَّ الأمَّ تُنجِبُ أولادًا للوطن، وتُؤمِّن له مسيرةَ الأجيال الجديدة. إنَّ شعارَ “أُمّي أُمَّتي” ينطبق أيضًا على الدولة الأمّ بالنسبة إلى المواطنين. فيا ليت المسؤولين السياسيّين الممعنين في قهر المواطنين وإذلالهم، من أجل مصالحهم الخاصَّة، مستغلّين سلطتهم ونفوذهم ومالهم وسلاحهم، يعودون إلى نفوسهم، ويخافون الله في عباده.

by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: It’s every parent’s worst nightmare – a newborn baby taken from his mother’s arms and lost, and yet that’s what happened to a young Lebanese couple moments after the birth of their son in an Istanbul hospital.. Mohammed Salim, 27, and Jana Al-Qawzi, 23, had just welcomed their newborn baby boy into the world when staff took him from his mother’s arms – he has not been seen since. Four months ago the couple had moved to Turkey in the hope of a new and better life, but instead are now in a desperate search for answers over the disappearance of their son. They say the hospital authorities have failed to give them a convincing explanation of the fate of their baby, who was taken from his mother’s arms moments after being born and vanished. Jana’s mother, Nada Al-Qawzi, who works at the American University of Beirut, said “her daughter is devastated and inconsolable.”

She told Arab News: “Jana wanted to offer her unborn child a shot at a better life, so she decided to leave Lebanon, knowing that Mohammed owned a hardware store and Jana was an employee at a private hospital in Beirut. “In Istanbul, they both found work and her pregnancy was normal. However, in the sixth month of pregnancy, doctors told my daughter that the baby’s heartbeats were slowing. A month later, Jana complained of abdominal pain and her doctor told her she should give birth immediately. “That is when Jana and Mohammed’s tragedy began.” Jana said that she cannot escape the nightmare she has been living in since July. “My tears have dried, but I am on painkillers,” she said. The couple’s residence permit in Turkey has expired, but Jana is refusing to leave without knowing the fate of her newborn in the Okmeydani hospital in Istanbul. As a non-Turkish citizen, Jana had to pay the hospital 4,000 Turkish liras ($528) on July 5. But when she checked with the local authorities, they made the hospital admit her for free. In the hospital, Jana was left alone in the delivery room after labor was induced. Her husband was not allowed to stay with her because other women were giving birth nearby. Jana’s mother said that when her daughter gave birth, she was shocked that the baby was “so little and kind of blue-ish.”

CNA Staff,(CNA).- President Donald Trump on Saturday signaled he would soon nominate a potential replacement to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday evening at 87. Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic mother of seven, is widely reported to be the front-runner in the president’s deliberations regarding a nominee. “.@GOP We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!” the president tweeted Saturday morning. Barrett, a federal judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, is reported to lead the president’s short list, and was also a contender for Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination in 2018, before the president nominated Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

According to Axios, Trump in 2018 said of Barrett that he was “saving her for Ginsburg” in explanation of his decision not to appoint her to the Supreme Court seat vacated by Justice Anthony Kennedy. Appointed a federal judge in 2017, Barrett had been a professor at Notre Dame’s law school until her nomination was confirmed. Barrett has twice been honored as “Distinguished Professor of the Year” at Notre Dame, and was a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. As a nominee to the federal bench, Barrett was pointedly questioned by Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee in 2017 on how her Catholic faith would influence her decisions as a judge on cases of abortion and same-sex marriage. During confirmation hearings, Senator Diane Feinstein said of Barrett’s Catholicism “the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern.” “You’re controversial because many of us that have lived our lives as women really recognize the value of finally being able to control our reproductive systems,” she said. “And Roe entered into that, obviously.” Barrett repeatedly said that as a judge, she would uphold the law of the land, but many pro-life groups believe she would be open to overturning the precedent of Roe vs. Wade, and uphold state restrictions on abortion. Pro-life groups hailed Barrett’s 2017 appointment to the bench.

by arabnews.com — reuters — BEIRUT: A party founded by Lebanon’s Christian president made a proposal to end a dispute that has blocked the formation of a new cabinet and threatened a French drive to lift the country out of its worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. The proposal, put forward on Saturday, involved handing major ministries to smaller sectarian groups in a country where power is shared between Muslims and Christians. There was no immediate comment from Shiite Muslim groups, which have insisted they choose who fills several posts. But a political source familiar with the thinking of dominant Shiite groups said the idea was unlikely to work.

Lebanon’s efforts to swiftly form a new government have run into the sand over how to pick ministers in a country where political loyalties mostly follow sectarian religious lines. A Sept. 15 deadline agreed with France to name a cabinet has passed. Paris, which is leading an international push to haul Lebanon back from economic collapse, has voiced exasperation and told Beirut to act “without delay.” The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the party founded by President Michel Aoun and allied to Hezbollah, proposed “undertaking an experiment to distribute the so-called sovereign ministries to smaller sects, specifically to the Druze, Alawites, Armenians and Christian minorities.” The statement was issued after Gebran Bassil, FPM head and son-in-law of the president, chaired a meeting of the party’s political leadership. Bassil is a Maronite, Lebanon’s largest Christian community.

aawsat.com — French President Emmanuel Macron called Lebanese leaders on Friday over stalled efforts to form a new government, a diplomatic source said, as Paris seeks to give a new push to its bid to pull the country out of a deep financial crisis. France has been leaning on Lebanon’s sectarian politicians to name a […]

FILE PHOTO: Salim Sfeir, chairman of the Association of Banks in Lebanon and chief executive of Bank of Beirut, is pictured during an interview with Reuters in Beirut, Lebanon July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir BEIRUT (Reuters) –

by reuters –– A French official has said it might be difficult for Lebanon’s banks to prevent savers losing some of their deposits, according to the minutes of a meeting in which France outlined steps to help the crippled banking industry. The comments were made during Sept. 10 talks in Paris between senior French officials and a delegation from the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL). Reuters reviewed a copy of the minutes, marked confidential. France has taken the lead in international efforts to push Lebanon’s fractious politicians to implement reforms needed to attract aid and ease a crisis that has paralysed the banking sector, shutting depositors out of most of their funds. “While it is a matter of principle for the ABL that depositors should bear no losses, it may be difficult to defend this to the end. But this is a matter of negotiation,” Pierre Duquesne, President Emmanuel Macron’s envoy to coordinate international support for Lebanon, said, according to the minutes.

Lebanon’s central bank and commercial bankers have sought to prevent a “haircut”, or formal reduction in balances held on deposit accounts. But savers with U.S. dollar accounts in Lebanon say they have already lost money as they cannot access funds or can only do so by exchanging into Lebanese pounds below market rates. The Lebanese pound, which was pegged to the dollar for more than two decades, has crashed during the financial crisis. The French Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.