by middleeasteye.net -- The Lebanese composer Samir Sfeir was released on Thursday from detention in Saudi Arabia and arrived in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. Sfeir, a celebrated musician and composer, had spent a month and a half in a Saudi prison after he was arrested over his political opinions and tweets regarding Saudi Arabia. His whereabouts remained unclear until 28 April, when Lebanon's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants tried to ask Saudi authorities about him and the reasons for his detention. Sfeir said on Thursday that he was for detained in solitary confinement for his “political opinions” for 50 days, and only saw his three interrogators.

Speaking at Beirut airport on Thursday, he said that he made “a mistake” in the way he criticised Saudi Arabia and expressed his support for Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah movement. “I thank God, maybe he wanted this to happen to me, to bring me back to my consciousness,” Sfeir said in an interview with Al-Jadeed TV. “I don't say that my opinions are wrong, but I say that the way I defended and interpreted my opinions is wrong." He vowed to focus on music and leave politics to politicians, apologising to Lebanese pop stars for his past criticisms. He also thanked Saudi Arabia "for bringing me back to consciousness". Lebanese media reported that Sfeir was questioned about his political tweets criticising Saudi Arabia and mocking its war against Yemen, which has so far resulted in 233,000 deaths, according to a United Nations report. Sfeir is well-known for his ties to Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement party. He has been living in Saudi Arabia permanently for the past nine months and has visited Riyadh frequently in the past five years.

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الفِلسطينيّون يعلنون الانتصار، وإسرائيلُ تَضُمُّ أراضيَ فِلسطينيّةً جديدةً، وتُدمّرُ، كلّما اقتَضَت الحاجة، الرُقعةَ الباقيةَ تحت سلطةِ الفِلسطينيّين. تمنّيتُ العكسَ، فيُعلنُ الفِلسطينيّون ذاتَ مرّةٍ الخَسارةَ ويَستعيدون هُم أرضًا ومساحةَ وجود. أورشليم، رمزُ فلسطين ورمزُنا، أمْسَت عاصمةً موحَّدةً لدولةِ إسرائيل. بقدْر ما كان شعبُ فِلسطين بحاجةٍ إلى تلك الفورةِ الوطنيّةِ التي تَفجَّرت بعدَ "حربِ غزة" (من 10 إلى 21 أيار الجاري)، لم يكن بحاجةٍ إلى حربِ غزّة. البعضُ يظنُّ أنَّ تعديلَ مسارِ المفاوضاتِ الفلسطينيّةِ/الإسرائيليّةِ ما كان ممكنًا من دون غزّة، لكنَّ الرئيسَ الأميركيَّ جو بايدن كان قد أعلنَ العودةَ إلى "حلِّ الدولتين" قبلَ حربِ غزّة.

الخَشيةُ اليومَ من أن تَحذوَ حماس حَذْوَ إسرائيل وترفضَ العودةَ إلى حلِّ الدولتين، وتنقلَ صِراعَها مع إسرائيل حولَ الأرضِ إلى صراعٍ داخليّ مع الشرعيّةِ الفِلسطينيّةِ في رام الله حولَ السلطة. إنَّ حساباتِ حماس مختلفةٌ عن حساباتِ السلطةِ الفِلسطينيّة. الأخيرةُ تَحمِلُ مشروعًا فِلسطينيًّا ـــ عربيًّا، بينما تَحمِلُ الأولى مشروعًا فِلسطينيًّا ـــ إيرانيًّا.

في لبنانَ نعيش تجربةً مماثلةً إِذ رَفضَ حزبُ الله، منذ سنةِ 2000، توظيفَ المقاومةِ والتحريرِ في حلِّ الدولةِ الواحدة، الدولةِ اللبنانيّةِ، وتَصرّفَ كأنّه اعتمَد حلَّ الدولتين: دولةِ لبنان ودولتِه. لا بل وظّفَ بعد التحريرِ قُدراتِه العسكريّةَ في سوريا والعراق واليمن، ورَبطَ، بالتنسيقِ مع إيران، مصيرَ لبنانَ بأسرِه، من سنةِ 2006 إلى اليوم، بحروب الـمِنطقة. هكذا بقي التحريرُ فِعلًا جَنوبيًّا تَنقُصه التغطيةُ الوطنيّة، وبَقيت المقاومةُ حالةً مستقلّةً تتحدّى الدولةَ اللبنانيّةَ وأصدقاءَها. وإذا كانت بيئةُ حزبِ الله تشعرُ بالأمنِ والكرامة في الجنوب ـــ وهي على حقٍّ ـــ فاللبنانيّون فَقدوا الشعورَ بالأمنِ والاستقرارِ والازدهارِ، وبالسيادةِ والاستقلالِ ووِحدةِ الدولة. هذه العناصرُ الوطنيّةُ لا تتعايشُ مع سلاحِ حزبِ الله ومشروعِ إيران، ولا مع أيِّ سلاحٍ آخَر ومشروعٍ آخَر خارجَ مشروعِ لبنان.

by catholicnewsagency.com — Catholicos-Patriarch Gregory Peter XX Gabroyan, leader of the Armenian Catholic Church, died on Tuesday at the age of 86. …

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- Majed Halabi, who owns 120 beehives in a rich citrus orchard in Lebanon's southern town of Hasbaya, has seen a worrying decline in his honey production from 12 kg to fewer than seven kg per beehive during a regular honey season. Climate change and economic crisis in Lebanon, in the eyes of the 40-year-old beekeeper, are the top causes of such a sharp decline. "The weather turns from severe cold in winter to high heat in summer, hitting hives and exposing bees to death," Halabi told Xinhua. The economic crisis that affects the honey season in Lebanon involves mainly the high cost of maintaining beehives, according to Halabi. In addition, the pesticides used by farmers against weeds kill the bees and turn fresh green pastures into dry barren lands. Experts in the honey industry told Xinhua that the Lebanese authorities haven't given much attention to the industry over the past years, urging support for beekeepers in different ways given the environmental importance of the industry and its role in creating job opportunities for rural residents.

According to the Lebanese Agriculture Ministry, the honey industry in the country hosts 10,000 beekeepers who own 300,000 beehives and produce 2,000 tons of honey annually. Jalal Mansour, head of the Environmental Association for the Protection of Bees in Western Bekaa in Lebanon, told Xinhua that the authorities must hold a series of seminars that invite specialists to expound on the important role of bees in maintaining a balanced healthy environment and improving food security by pollinating crops. Tariq Abou Faour, head of the Cooperative Society for Bee Care in Khalwat in southern Lebanon, agreed that the beekeeping in Lebanon has been largely neglected by the authorities and is supported only by non-governmental initiatives such as those of the beekeepers cooperatives across the country. Ghaith Maalouf, a local agricultural engineer, called on local and international organizations to help compensate for beekeepers' losses suffered from natural disasters by providing the necessary equipment for sorting and preserving honey and medicines for bees' diseases, and promoting the use of biological pest control instead of chemical pesticides.