Articles compiled from Al Arabiya , AlJazeea, Naharnet and Gulfnews

The Lebanese president arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a two-day official visit. Aoun also said that internal wars only end through political solutions and voiced the importance of cooperation to combat terrorism. “We all need to cooperate to fight terrorism. We need to cooperate with Saudi Arabia and with all countries because terrorism is no longer limited to Middle Eastern countries but it's now across the entire world,” he told Al-Ekhbariya.

Addressing the Lebanese situation, Aoun said balances in Lebanon will strengthen each day, noting however that Lebanon bears the burden of the influx of Syrian refugees led to increasing the population during a short period of time thus resulting in huge financial burdens.

On restoring a $3-billion military aid package that Riyadh froze last year, a Lebanese source told AFP on Tuesday: "The blockage is lifted," said an official in the delegation of President Michel Aoun, who held talks in the Saudi capital with King Salman earlier in the day. "It's finished. There is truly a change. But when and how, we have to wait to see," the official said, adding "a new page" had been turned and the aid was "going to move." The king's son, the powerful Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will discuss with his Lebanese counterpart how to move forward with the package, said the official, who asked for anonymity. However, other sources from the Lebanese delegation downplayed the official's remarks. “The issue of the Saudi grant was discussed but no decision has yet been taken to unblock the aid,” LBCI television quoted the sources as saying.

Later on Tuesday, Lebanon's National News Agency said Aoun asked the king for “continued support for the army in the face of terrorism and the other security challenges, including the issue of the grant.” “The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, said he will follow up on the issue with the competent ministers,” NNA added. “Aoun also invited King Salman to visit Lebanon and the issue of Saudi flights will be addressed in a positive manner,” the agency said. The president “considers that a new chapter of Lebanese-Saudi ties has been launched and that the relations have returned to normal,” NNA added, noting that Aoun “heard from King Salman what confirms this.” Earlier during the day, Aoun met at his place of residence in Riyadh, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid bin Abdullah bin Othman el-Qasabi who assured that Saudi nationals will resume trips to Lebanon shortly, the state-run National News Agency reported. After his meeting with the Lebanese President, el-Qasabi said: “Saudi nationals are likely to resume trips to Lebanon, and I will be at the forefront,” NNA said. Earlier, Aoun met with Saudi Culture Minister Adel Bin Zaid al-Tarifi.

Aoun voiced hope that the crisis in Syria will be resolved peacefully and politically because refugees will thus be allowed to return to Syria and rebuild it. A statement issued by Aoun’s press office Monday said that his Riyadh trip was at the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Among the topics sources say we will be discussed is the normalization of political and economic relations between the two countries, including the lifting of a travel ban on Saudi citizens visiting the country. Another issue to be discussed will be the restoration of Saudi assistance to Lebanese military, which was halted in February last year. Aoun’s tour will then continue on his Gulf tour when he is scheduled to visit Qatar on Wednesday.

Ministerial meetings

Minister of Culture and Information Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi met Lebanese Minister of Information Melhem Riashy. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and topics of common interest. Also, Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi received at King Saud palace here today the visiting Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury. During the meeting, they discussed investment opportunities between the two countries, especially in the field of agriculture and the development of food industry.

President Michel Aoun traveled Monday to Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip since taking office, starting an Arab tour that will also take him to Qatar and Egypt. Aoun had received an official invitation to visit the kingdom from Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz He is accompanied by a large ministerial delegation comprising the ministers Jebran Bassil (foreign affairs), Marwan Hamadeh (education), Ali Hassan Khalil (finance), Yaaqoub al-Sarraf (defense), Nouhad al-Mashnouq (interior), Pierre Raffoul (presidency affairs), Melhem Riachi (information) and Raed Khoury (economy). Lebanon's ambassador to the kingdom Abdul Sattar Issa will join the delegation upon its arrival.

Aoun's visit to Riyadh on Monday - the first in a series of stops in neighbouring countries - is expected to focus on reviving tourism in Lebanon and restoring military cooperation between the two countries. The Saudi government suspended nearly $4bn in arms support to Lebanon last year, as well as issuing a travel advisory to its citizens against going to Lebanon. One of Lebanon's most important financial sectors, tourism generated less than $4bn for the country last year, compared to $8.4bn in 2010 - with visitors from neighbouring Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, having dropped significantly. The Saudi government took the measures against Lebanon because it said the country had failed to condemn what it considered to be attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran in January 2016. The protests in Tehran at the Saudi embassy followed the execution of 47 people, including the Shia Muslim leader, Nimr al-Nimr, in Saudi Arabia.  Saudi Arabia subsequently cut off diplomatic ties with Iran, and cooled relations with Lebanon, where Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim political and social movement that is politically allied with Iran, enjoys significant influence.

Despite that, Hezbollah - with which Aoun is allied - has welcomed the president's trip to Riyadh.  "Hezbollah has said that President Aoun should go to Saudi Arabia," Louis Hobeika, a political analyst, said. "They understand perfectly - after all, Hezbollah people are Lebanese - and they know that if the Lebanese economy functions well, Hezbollah and the population of Hezbollah will benefit too ... And in my view they are interested in that visit." Aoun was elected president in October 2016 after the country's top official political post was left vacant for more than two years.  The country was without a head of state for 29 months due to political infighting that prevented a quorum from forming in parliament. Following his trip to Saudi Arabia, Aoun is also expected to visit Qatar.

By The Daily Star.

Lebanon's Minister of State for Administrative Development Inaya Ezzeddine Sunday called on state officials to invest in material infrastructure and human resources to benefit from the recently discovered oil in the country, state media said. “We hope that state and energy ministry officials deal with this fortune ... with extreme transparency, wisdom, and proper investment,” the minister was quoted as saying by the National News Agency.

Ezzeddine demanded the renovation of ports, hospitals and infrastructure necessary for facilitating oil exploration off the Lebanese coast. “The state must start preparing youth to enter the new labor market with high-quality expertise in line with global standards,” Ezzeddine then added.

She also called for a comprehensive evaluation and improvement of technical and vocational institutes graduating technicians in the oil field. “The maximum number possible of Lebanese youth must be enabled to work in the new labor market,” she said.

The Daily Star BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the Lebanese should be grateful for the stable security situation in the …

By Lydia Ramsey

If you're trying to prioritize dieting in 2017, keep in mind that not all diets are created equal. Often, the ones that garner the most attention aren't even among the best. For its annual list, US News & World Report ranked 38 eating plans, considering different criteria including how easy the diet is to follow, its effects on weight loss (both short and long term), how nutritional and safe the diet is, and how well it helps prevent diabetes and heart disease. The ranking drew on the expertise of a panel of dietitians and nutritionists, but didn't account for any costs associated with the diet plans or how exercise fit into the programs.
Here's which diets ranked above the rest to make the top 10.