By Najia Houssari - arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt announced his sudden resignation as the head of the Progressive Socialist Party on Thursday. A prominent Druze leader, Jumblatt led a party that has held a pivotal position in Lebanese political life since its establishment in 1949. In his announcement, Jumblatt called for a general election conference on June 25, per the provisions of the party's constitution and internal regulations. He entrusted the general secretariat with completing the necessary preparations, including issuing relevant notifications regarding nomination requests and withdrawal deadlines, and all conditions related to the electoral process. Additionally, the secretariat will prepare lists of conference members and send out invitations. Jumblatt's decision is rare as leaders typically do not voluntarily step down from their positions. Most leaders who participated in the Lebanese civil war continued to hold political positions they assumed after the war. Jumblatt inherited the party’s leadership from his father, Kamal Jumblatt, who was assassinated on March 16, 1977. He led the party during the darkest stages of the Lebanese civil war.

Currently, the Progressive Socialist Party is represented in the Lebanese parliament by the Democratic Gathering bloc, headed by Jumblatt's son, MP Taymour Jumblatt, and consisting of nine MPs. Taymour will likely assume the presidency of the Progressive Socialist Party through elections. In 2017, on the commemoration of Kamal Jumblatt, the founder of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt took the symbolic step of handing over the leadership mantle to his son by donning the abaya (traditional garment) for him. This was a social, followed by a political gesture signifying the gradual transfer of the Druze leadership to his son in 2022. In recent weeks, there have been reports of differences of opinion between Walid Jumblatt and his son Taymour regarding the approach to electing the next president.

Beirut (AFP) – A Lebanese judge has banned the country's central bank governor Riad Salameh from travelling, days after Beirut received an Interpol Red Notice following a French arrest warrant, a judicial official said Wednesday. Salameh has been the target of a series of judicial investigations both at home and abroad on allegations including embezzlement, money laundering, fraud and illicit enrichment, which he denies. French investigators suspect that during his three decades as central bank chief, Salameh misused public funds to accumulate real estate and banking assets concealed through a complex and fraudulent financial network.

On Wednesday, judge Imad Qabalan questioned Salameh and "decided to release him pending investigation, ban him from travelling, and confiscate his Lebanese and French passports", the official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Activists say the travel ban on the central bank chief helps shield him from being brought to justice abroad -- and from potentially bringing down others in Lebanon's entrenched political class. "The Lebanese judiciary, with the exception of a few judges, has shown that it is not independent. It is biased for politicians who steer it the way they want," charged lawyer and activist Karim Daher. "The corrupt Lebanese regime... has no interest in Salameh being tried abroad and spilling the beans" about the political class's financial activities, he told AFP.

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by LBCI news  — Jean Abboud, the President of the Association of Travel and Tourism Agents in Lebanon, confirmed that “2023 is …