Al Jazeera,

The deadly stabbing of a man in broad daylight in one of Beirut’s busiest streets and in front of dozens of bystanders has shaken Lebanese society and raised questions about the perceived culture of impunity in the country.

Scores of people took to the streets on Friday evening to protest against the killing of George al-Reef two days earlier by an enraged man following a feud over a car collision.

About 200 people marched in Beirut’s Gemmayzeh Street, a commercial area packed with restaurants and pubs, where Wednesday’s incident – filmed by a number of bystanders – took place.

http://www.lebaneseexaminer.com/

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Beirut-based real estate advisory firm RAMCO revealed the average sales prices of apartments under construction in Beirut vary between USD 2,088 and USD 7,000 per square meter.

The BCD, the seafront stretch, and some neighborhoods in Ashrafieh are still the most expensive in Beirut. The central residential neighborhoods – from Bachoura to the North down towards Hamad and Rweiss in the South – are the least expensive in the capital.

The RAMCO research department produced a map of average asking prices of apartments in 346 buildings among 71 Beirut neighborhoods.

Shibley Telhami, The Brookings Institution

The immediate reaction of Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding the announced Iran nuclear deal was to continue his total rejection of the agreement, calling it a historic mistake.

This, despite the near consensus that, at this point, Congress is unlikely to be able to stop its implementation.

Given that the agreement was long in the making and expected, it’s hard to believe that Netanyahu’s reaction was not well rehearsed. Yet, it’s hard to understand what this posture can gain him strategically. What are Bibi’s options?

First, he could try to quickly shift gears to other aspects of Iranian behavior beyond the nuclear issue.

The problem is that the most troubling aspects for Israel (and ones that could draw American and international attention) have to do with Iranian support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which are not currently hot issues; Hezbollah is deeply entangled in Syria and on guard in Lebanon, and Hamas is still licking its wounds from last year’s brutal war.

Reuters, Beirut

The Iranian nuclear deal could help Lebanon overcome the obstacles that have for more than a year prevented the election of a president, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday. The presidency has been vacant since Michel Suleiman’s term expired in May 2014. Filling it requires a deal between rival politicians who are aligned with competing regional powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia.“This agreement could help create the climate that would help remove the complications facing the election of a president of the republic,” Berri, an ally of Iran, was quoted as saying in a statement circulated by his office.

By Babu Das Augustine,Banking Editor

Dubai: Iran’s nuclear deal with the West could be boon for business between the UAE and Iran, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

“Lebanon and the UAE would benefit from the economic rebound in Iran. Given Lebanon’s financial skills and regional ties, it could play an important role in the future financing and channelling of investment needed by the Iranian economy. More foreign companies could be based in Dubai to do business in Iran,” said Garbis Iradian, Chief Economist, Africa/Middle East of IIF.

BU DHABI — Military aid provided by Saudi Arabia and the United States has boosted the firepower of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) by about 30 to 40 percent in recent years, analysts said.

Over the past eight years Lebanon has received US military aid worth $1 billion, according to David Hale, the US ambassador to Lebanon.

"Almost every month orders are arriving to the Lebanese Armed Forces," said Riad Kahwaji, CEO of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.