By Sunniva Rose — thenational.ae — A coronavirus committee in the town of Hasbaya in South Lebanon has raised the alarm, saying …

by alkhaleejtoday.co -- Prime Minister Saad Hariri emphasized that “the French initiative has not ended,” noting that “this initiative wanted Lebanon to succeed and get it out of the impasse, and I do not know why they failed it.” His government is provocative names, and whoever brought down Hassan Diab’s government was the Beirut explosion. “ In an interview with the “Time Has Come” program, Hariri said: “The President of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, and the head of the powerful Lebanon Bloc, Gebran Bassil, refused to take over the initiative government, so I decided to step aside.” He continued: “I am a candidate for prime minister without Jamila anyone. I have a parliamentary bloc and it is known who I am, but I do not threaten and promise as others do. Some critics and bidders want me to threaten and I will not do that, I am the son of moderate Rafik Hariri.” “I am the natural candidate for prime minister and I will make a round of contacts this week, and if all the parties are still agreeing on the program of the Pine Palace in terms of negotiations with the IMF and the required reforms then I will not close the door on the only hope to stop the collapse.

And he added, “I will conduct a round of contacts with all political parties to find out the stability of their position and their approval of the French reform paper, and if everyone agrees, I will not close the door.” He continued:I refuse to return according to the formula, either Saad Hariri and Gebran Bassil are inside or outside the government, but I think it is no longer on the table. “ He said, “We agreed in the Pine Palace that political parties would leave this government and not interfere in naming ministers and allow the new government to complete and rebuild Beirut, and everyone agreed to privatization and increase taxes.” Hariri assured that “the formation of a government of one color, as well as the government of Hassan Diab, will not obtain any support from the international community for Lebanon.” He added, “I was accused of forming the government of Dr. Mustafa Adeeb, but my job was only to warn Adeeb not to name people that provoke any political team, and to adhere to Saad Hariri’s nomination by Amal Movement and Hezbollah is only to avoid the Sunni-Shiite tension.”

by arabnews.com -- PARIS: France will hold a humanitarian aid conference for Lebanon in November, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday. The conference was initially planned for the end of October. Le Drian also told the French National Assembly that the Lebanon international contact group would meet in the coming days to reiterate the need for the formation of a government.

By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: The streets of Baalbek have been in chaos over the past two days because of violent clashes between the Jaafar and Shamas clans. Video footage released on social media showed dozens of armed men walking the streets to an inflammatory soundtrack. State security forces are conspicuous by their absence from the footage. The two clans are spread throughout the Baalbek-Hermel region, up to the Syrian border. Both have been the source of hundreds of Hezbollah militants over the years.

The current violence was sparked by the killing of Abbas Shamas on Sunday by four members of the Jaafar clan. Abbas was the brother of two Shamas members imprisoned for the killing of Issa Ali Jaafar in 2017. Following that murder, the two clans established a wary peace agreement to prevent further bloodshed. But following the murder on Sunday, the Jaafar clan celebrated its revenge by taking to the streets and firing missiles in the air. Governor of Baalbek Hermel Bashir Khadr told Arab News: “People were going about their normal lives. Tourists were visiting the castle and the city when the firing of automatic and missile weapons suddenly started, and this terrified people. People are already frustrated and restless as a result of the difficult economic conditions the country is going through.”