By Aya Iskandarani -- thenationalnews.com -- Lebanese authorities released two western journalists on Monday, six hours after Hezbollah detained them and handed them over to the security forces. British reporter Matt Kynaston was detained and his phone confiscated after he went to the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut to cover the country’s ongoing fuel crisis, his editor-in-chief at NOW Lebanon said on Twitter. “Journalist Matt Kynaston has been detained on the Airport Road by men who introduced as Hezbollah agents,” Ana Maria Luca said on Twitter. “Before his phone was probably taken away he sent a voice note with a recording of a man saying, 'I have the right to take his phone. I have the right to take his phone without his consent.'"

Kynaston is employed at NOW Lebanon and has previously worked for The National as a freelancer. He was detained with German reporter Stella Manner, Luca said. The two journalists were handed over to Lebanese authorities and held at the General Security building in Beirut before being released in the evening. Lebanon has long been considered a haven for freedom of speech in the Middle East. But Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Amal have repeatedly cracked down on journalists, activists and demonstrators in Beirut and southern Lebanon after the mass anti-government protest movement of October 2019. Areas under Hezbollah control are out of reach for the Lebanese state. Journalists and media workers are required to ask for permission from Hezbollah before they can report from these areas. “The individual had not asked permission before filming in Dahiye,” a Hezbollah representative told The National. “That may be why he was questioned."

من مقال يحيى احمد الكعكي اليوم في الشرق:‎ ولكن مع استمرار رفض “البعض” في لبنان لـ”الميثاق الوطني 1943″، و”القانون الدستوري 1990/9/21″، و”إعلان …

منيت أحزاب السلطة في لبنان بالهزيمة في انتخابات نقابة المهندسين في بيروت التي نظمت الأحد، أمام مرشحين محسوبين على ما يسمى "قوى 17 تشرين"، التي تقود التظاهرات الاحتجاجية منذ عام 2019.

ويعد هذا مؤشرا يدق ناقوس الخطر بالنسبة إلى الأحزاب التقليدية المهيمنة، قبل عام من فتح صناديق الاقتراع للانتخابات البرلمانية.

وأعلنت لائحة "النقابة تنتفض" التي تمثل مرشحي المعارضة، فوزها في انتخابات الأحد، التي تعتبر المرحلة الأولى من انتخابات نقابة المهندسين، على أن تجرى "المعركة الأكبر" في انتخابات النقيب والأعضاء العشرة لمجلس النقابة في 18 يوليو المقبل.

وأعلنت اللائحة على موقعها على "تويتر" أن "النقابة انتفضت... فانتصرت"