AP - France's prime minister says he'd favor a ban on Muslim headscarves in universities, prompting criticism from within his own government. In an interview with the daily Liberation, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said France should "protect" French Muslims from extremist ideology.

He said the headscarf, when worn for political reasons, oppresses women and is not "an object of fashion or consumption like any other." Citing secular traditions, France banned the face-covering Muslim veil and forbids headscarves and other religious symbols in schools and public buildings. Asked whether to outlaw headscarves in universities, Valls is quoted as saying "it should be done, but there are constitutional rules that make this ban difficult."

On Wednesday, the Lebanese people marked the anniversary of the start of the civil war that plunged their country into violence and chaos for 15 years. More than 25 years since the conflict ended, however, the Lebanese people have yet to enjoy domestic tranquility.

The older generations who remember the war hope to never see such dark days again, urging the nation’s youth to put their sectarian and ideological differences aside. In Beirut, many buildings still bear the scars of the gunfire and shelling that once ravaged the city known as the "Paris of the Middle East". Saeed Shams al-Din, a 58-year-old engineer who remembers the war, described the conflict as "one of the worst in history".

The Lebanese people had borne the brunt of the civil war, Shams al-Din told Anadolu Agency, going on to urge the nation’s youth to remain in the country and strive to maintain peace.

by Michael Karam

I was having dinner in Beirut with a young Lebanese couple. He had Canadian citizenship from his father, who had studied in Montreal in the ‘70s. She was able to claim the Portuguese nationality from her maternal grandmother. Their kids would be Portuguese, being ineligible for Canadian citizenship, as successive generations cannot be born outside Canada to a foreign mother.

The Lebanese know their way around nationality rules and any loopholes. Just ask those West African expats with British Protected Persons status and their dependents who pounced on full UK citizenship after the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act was passed in 2002, without having set foot in Great Britain or in many cases were unable to speak a word of English.

The Lebanese love, or should I say, need, a foreign passport. The Lebanese one has been ranked by Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index “a global ranking of countries based on the freedom of travel for their citizens," among the top 10 worst passports to own because of visa restriction issues.

By Ahmed Abbas, Egypt is committed to enforcing economic cooperation with Lebanon, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said during his meeting with Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri. Al-Sisi praised the activities of the Lebanese workers abroad, especially in West Africa.

Berri said the next few years should see more investments between Egypt and Lebanon, pointing out that Lebanese investors are eager to benefit from investment opportunities in Egypt, especially as Lebanese investors are active in Africa. Regarding Lebanon’s internal position, Berri emphasised the importance of ending the conflict between opposing Lebanese parties and electing a president as soon as possible.