NNA – Caretaker Minister of the Displaced, Issam Sharafeddine, visited today the Syrian state, accompanied by a Lebanese Democratic Party delegation, where they met with the Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Hussein Makhlouf, in charge of the displaced Syrians’ dossier, and Interior Minister, Major General Mohammad al-Rahmoun. Talks centered on the plan set by Minister Sharafeddine to ensure a safe, dignified and voluntary return of the displaced Syrians to their homes, and the measures taken by the Syrian side to provide a safe and quick return for them according to specific timetables agreed upon by both sides.

Makhlouf confirmed in a statement after the meeting, that “there is a consensus in the vision between the Syrian and Lebanese sides regarding the return of all refugees, not just 15,000 displaced persons per month, as stated in the plan presented by the Lebanese side,” noting that “the amnesty decrees that were issued included all Syrians, in addition to facilitating and simplifying procedures in the border areas and providing services for returnees, including transportation, relief, humanitarian aid, medical care, education and others, to provide them with a safe and comfortable stay.” “One of the priorities of the Syrian state is to create conditions for the return of all Syrians to their homes and to rehabilitate the infrastructure in the areas liberated by the Syrian Arab Army,” Makhlouf asserted. He added: “What the state has done in this context allowed the return of five million displaced Syrians, including one million displaced from abroad and four million from the inside…They have become stable in their areas with full services being provided.” “Syrians in Lebanon and in any other country are invited to return,” Makhlouf reiterated. He called on the United Nations organizations to be “an active partner in the return of the displaced, especially that the Syrian side is open to cooperation with the Lebanese side and others to facilitate the return of all the displaced and to have an active role in the reconstruction.”

by english.sawtbeirut.com — In his Sunday sermon from Diman, Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi said that Lebanon cannot live in accordance with his message if it does not maintain active neutrality or refrain from being involved in other people’s conflicts. Being neutral is not a presumptive stance, but rather a way to have a […]

NNA – Free Patriotic Movement Chief, MP Gebran Bassil, stressed Saturday on the factor of “representation” as being the foremost characteristic of the future president of the republic. “The position of the president is linked to his powers and characteristics, particularly his representation,” he said, emphasizing that “the first and most important factor is his real and natural representation, i.e. his actual representation of the people,” which is embodied by a parliamentary bloc and a ministerial bloc that supports him and increases the strength of his powers and position. “Without this, the president would lose much of this power,” deemed Bassil. His words came following his visit to Al-Diman this afternoon, where he held a two-hour closed meeting with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, touching on the latest developments prevailing in the country.

Bassil continued to stress that “the president of the republic must be part of his environment and its conscience, and a good representative of it,” while emphasizing that “he is the president of all the Lebanese, so he must enjoy the endorsement of the majority of the Lebanese.” “The decision on this issue must be in the first place with the actual representatives, and this is an occasion for Bkirki to take any possible initiative and we support it in carrying out its endeavors,” the MP went on. “Today, as you know, is the season of specifications, with the bazaar on specifications including the future president’s character, patriotism, humanity, competence, understanding, knowledge…as well as his concept of the state and the state’s monetary and financial economy in this circumstance and his ability to communicate abroad and internally,” Bassil continued. “However, the first and foremost characteristic, I would even say the last and most important, is representation; otherwise, why democracy or the elections?” he reiterated.

by english.alaraby.co.uk — Lebanon saw an outpouring of sympathy on Thursday for an unlikely recipient: a bank robber and hostage-taker. Bassam Al-Sheikh Hussein entered a Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in Beirut and pulled out a shotgun when he was told he could not access the money in his bank account he needed to fund life-saving medical care for his family. He resorted to holding six bank employees hostage to gain access to his life savings. Though his methods were shocking, people gathered outside the bank and online expressed compassion for the 42-year-old, who they said was pushed to violence by Lebanon’s endemic corruption.

What happened?

Hussein entered a Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in the Hamra neighbourhood of west Beirut just before noon on Thursday. He demanded $200,000, from his own bank account. When employees refused the request, Hussein began screaming that his relatives were in hospital and pulled out a gun, according to videos circulating on social media. The 42-year-old threatened to set himself on fire unless he was allowed to take his money. Six hostages were stuck in the building, including one customer and five employees, Reuters reported. The stand-off ended after six hours with the hostage-taker in police custody after he was promised $300,000 of his savings. No one was hurt. Dozens of protesters gathered to support Hussein amid the hostage-taking situation, exclaiming that corrupt politicians and bankers had pushed individuals to the brink. “For the Lebanese people and for the depositors, this man is a hero,” Hassan Moghnieh from the Lebanese Depositors Association told Al Jazeera. “His father is in the hospital. The bank is giving him 8 million (Lebanese pounds) per month, which means less than 300 dollars while he is paying for electricity 10 million a month. How can he survive? How can he survive?”, he asked.

According to the Lebanese Depositors’ Union, the father of the gunman requires $50,000 for medical treatment. Hussein was only able to withdraw $1,000 from his account over the last three years due to strict withdrawal limits in Lebanon, despite having around $209,000 in deposits. “Riad Salameh, any drop of blood that falls inside is on you,” said the crowd of protesters, referring to the widely-condemned central bank governor who Lebanese accused of enriching himself and his friends while normal citizens suffer.

Beirut – Mohamed Choucair — aawsat.com — The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hussein Khalil have discussed several problems facing Lebanon, mainly the upcoming presidential elections. The meeting was attended by PSP officials MP Wael Abu Faour and former Minister Ghazi al-Aridi, and top Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that discussions focused on their differences over Hezbollah’s weapons and Lebanon’s defense strategy. According to the sources, the meeting also reviewed the presidential elections, but no candidates were discussed. They instead addressed Jumblatt’s rejection to support a candidate backed by Hezbollah. They pointed out that Jumblatt called for electing a president who is not provocative and is accepted by all political parties.

The sources quoted Khalil as saying that Hezbollah seeks to form a new government and elect the president on time after Jumblatt warned that the country cannot afford a presidential vacuum. The term of President Michel Aoun will end in October 2022. During Thursday’s meeting, the PSP chief addressed the issue of Hezbollah sending drones over the Karish field and asked whether it was an Iranian message to improve the terms of its negotiations on its nuclear program. Hezbollah said in July it had sent three unarmed drones towards the Israeli Mediterranean gas rig, which the Israeli military said it had intercepted. Khalil stressed that Iran does not need drones to improve its position and that the unmanned aircraft aimed to improve Lebanon’s position in the US-mediated negotiations with Israel on the maritime border demarcation.

by aa.com.tr — BEIRUT, Lebanon The Lebanese army announced on Friday that it has received the first batch of a $60 million grant provided by Qatar. The army said it has begun distributing financial aid to military personnel, which was granted to support the salaries of the army members Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph […]

BEIRUT,  (Reuters) – A hostage situation in a Beirut, Lebanon, bank ended on Thursday after authorities agreed to grant a Lebanese gunman partial access to his frozen funds in exchange for releasing all six hostages. Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, entered the Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in the Hamra neighbourhood of west Beirut with a firearm just before noon on Thursday, a security source told Reuters. “He demanded access to around $200,000 he had in his bank account. When the employee refused the request, he began screaming that his relatives were in the hospital. Then he pulled out the gun,” the source said. The hostage situation ended after six hours when the bank agreed to give the man around $30,000, his sister and the head of a local banking association told local media. It was not immediately clear if the terms of the settlement included any criminal charges.

Some bank customers managed to flee before he shut the doors on the rest, said the source. At least one elderly man was released from the bank because of his age and government negotiators were deployed to begin talks with the hostage taker, the interior ministry said. The remaining six hostages comprised one customer and five bank employees, including bank manager Hassan Halawi, who spoke to Reuters by phone within the branch. “I’m in my office. He (the hostage taker) gets agitated, then calms down, then gets agitated again,” Halawi said by phone before he was released.

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

نتّجِهُ إلى انتخابِ رئيسٍ جديدٍ لجُمهوريّةٍ مختلِفون عليها. كنا نَتخاصمُ على الرئيسِ ونتَّفقُ على الجمهوريّةِ، فصِرنا اليومَ متخاصِمين على الاثنين. كلُّ شعبٍ مُوحَّدٍ تَجمعُه قواسمُ مشتركَةٌ: الحريّةُ والأُخوّةُ والمساواةُ جَمعَت فرنسا الجُمهوريّة. الهويّةُ الجامعةُ المرتبطةُ بالمبادئِ السياسيّةِ الليبراليّةِ والمساواةِ جَمعَت الولاياتِ المتّحدةَ الأميركيّة. الهويّةُ اليهوديّةُ الصهيونيّةُ المتواصِلةُ بأسطورةِ “أرضِ الميعاد” جَمعت دولةَ إسرائيل. الحِيادُ والثقافةُ والشعورُ بالانتماءِ إلى إمبراطوريّةٍ تاريخيّةٍ انْدثَرت جَمعَت دولةَ النمسا الجديدة. التعدديّةُ الحضاريّةُ في نظامٍ فِدراليٍّ حِياديٍّ جَمعَت دولةَ سويسرا.

ماذا يَجمُع دولةَ لبنان؟ وماذا يَجمعُ اللبنانيّين؟ ما هي قواسِمُنا المشترَكَة؟ التقينا لتَجمَعنا القيمُ والحضاراتُ والثقافاتُ والمبادئ حولَ لبنان، لكنَّ هناك من انساقَ وراءَ عقائدَ قوميّةٍ ومشاريعَ دينيّةٍ ومذهبيّةٍ قَضَت على جميعِ محاولاتِ تثبيتِ الفكرةِ اللبنانيّةِ الرائعة. اليوم، باتَ البعضُ يعتبرُ أنْ لا الدينُ يَجمعُنا ولا العقيدةُ ولا الأصلُ الإِثْنيُّ ولا الأعداءُ ولا الحلفاءُ ولا نمطُ الحياة ولا الآلهةُ ولا الأنبياء. وحين نَتكلمُ العربيّةَ، اللغةَ التي تَجمعُنا، فلكي يَشتُمَ بعضُنا البعضَ الآخَر ويُشكِّكَ في وطنيّتِه.

By By David Sadler — globeecho.com — Lebanese President Michel Aoun reviewed the measures that will be adopted to implement the plan for the return of Syrian refugees in phases. According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency, Aoun chaired a meeting today at Baabda Palace, which was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs and […]

by thenationalnews.com — US authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Lebanese collector who for years advised investigators trying to clamp down on the trafficking of stolen antiquities. Georges Lotfi, 81, has been charged by a New York court with 24 counts of criminal possession of stolen property. His address is listed as a post box in Tripoli, Lebanon, but Mr Lotfi also has properties in New York, France and elsewhere. According to the affidavit filed earlier this month, Mr Lotfi had served as a “valuable source of information on numerous antiquities-smuggling investigations”. “Over the years, the defendant has provided me with detailed information about looting practices globally,” Robert Mancene, a Homeland Security special agent, said in the affidavit.

Mr Mancene said Mr Lotfi “has demonstrated not only his intimate knowledge of the illegal trade in antiquities from the Middle East and North Africa, but also his acute awareness of the hallmarks of looted antiquities from his extended involvement in buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in antiquities — thereby revealing to me his awareness of the stolen nature of his own antiquities”. ‘They turned against me’ Mr Lotfi also had a long-standing relationship with Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Manhattan district attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU). Mr Lotfi said he was “not a smuggler” but “a collector”. “I was fighting with them for 10 years to stop illicit trading and they turned against me,” he told the New York Times. The investigation by the ATU began indirectly in July 2017, Mr Mancene said.