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 […]

By Edward Gabriel, opinion contributor – modified slightly  – The article represents opinion of the author-

Lebanon is a country of 4.5 million people hosting 1.5 million Syrian
refugees—the equivalent, percentage-wise, of all of Canada and half of
Mexico flowing into the U.S. in about four years. In meetings I had last
week in Beirut, the country’s Minister of Refugees told me that Lebanon
is the “sandbag” against a rising flood that keeps this problem from
overflowing to Europe and the West. And after speaking with President
Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and other top government
officials, I fear that Lebanon may not be able to cope much longer.

The
Lebanese have borne direct and indirect costs of nearly $20 billion as a
result of the Syrian refugee crisis, in a country with an annual GDP of
$48 billion. Half the refugee children are not in school (which are
plagued by overcrowding), power shortages produce less than half the
needed electricity, only one-third of households have access to clean
water, and the environmental damage from lack of sewage treatment is a
disaster. Meanwhile,
the country needs to protect its borders from al Qaeda and ISIS, a
daily threat to the country and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

 Fortunately,
America has shown its trust in and support of the LAF, supplying more
than 90 percent of its equipment, logistical support, and training. In
return, the LAF have refused to accept military hardware from Russia and
Iran, preferring its privileged relationship with the U.S. In our
discussions with the new Commander of the LAF, General Joseph Aoun, who
is visiting the U.S. this week, it was strikingly apparent that the U.S.
has a real partner and collaborator in the wider fight against
terrorism in the region. 

by Gulfnews – Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer

Beirut: Thousands of protesters marked Labour Day on Monday as labour
union leaders vented their anger against authorities who struggle to
deliver on promises of pay rises. The demonstration coincided with
the recent anger over the government’s decision to delay the
long-awaited salary rises for teachers, civil servants and the military. On
Sunday, the National Federation of Workers’ and Employees’ Trade Unions
(FENASOL) and the Domestic Workers’ Union in Lebanon (DWUL) held a
pre-protest to express anger over the delays and also organised Monday’s
rally near its headquarters at the Cola Roundabout, led by Castro
Abdullah, the organisation’s chairman. Abdullah declared that,
“May 1st [2017] comes carrying with it more tragedies and crises that
make joy and hope for a decent life something very far-fetched for the
working class”.

The Lebanese Communist Party added its voice to
the Monday rally, while tenants upset with the government’s latest
proposals to increase fixed rents, rallied in Beirut’s Ashrafieh
neighbourhood. Ahead of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Sa‘ad Hariri marked
Labour Day with an assurance that the Lebanese government was ready to
tackle all challenges and already began implementing a series of
measures to reduce competition for the Lebanese labour market. Hariri
clarified that authorities were working to alleviate the suffering
faced by workers, and said various measures to reduce “competition for
the Lebanese labour force, actuating the economic cycle and encouraging
investments to increase employment opportunities” were already being
implemented.

The premier reiterated his pledge to present the
proposed wage scale to the parliament as soon as possible while pointing
out the realities of the market being flooded by cheap Syrian manpower —
one of the many repercussions of the six-year Syrian civil war next
door. Hariri reiterated that the influx of Syrian workers deprived
Lebanese of jobs — many who are in serious economic need. He pointed out that the refugees were also placing a huge strain on public services.