By Najia houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese people remain divided over Syria’s return to the Arab League following a 12-year suspension. …

by fl360aero.com -- Lebanon has barred the largest airline in Cyprus, TUS Airways, from flying in the Arab country’s airspace or landing at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, due to the fact that an Israeli corporation owns nearly half of the shares in the company. In a statement published by the state-run National News Agency on Saturday, the Director General of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority, Fadi al-Hassan, said the Israeli company Knafaim Holdings Ltd. owns 49.9% of the stock of the Cypriot airline. TUS Airways was formed in 2015, shortly after the liquidation of Cyprus Airways and despite only owning five Airbus A320 aircraft, the carrier is officially the largest airline in Cyprus. Although the airline is based out of its Larnaca hub , TUS Airways has a strong focus on flights to and from Israel, apparently due to its share holder connection.

Lebanon only became aware that TUS Airways had a major Israeli backer after the Cypriot Civil Aviation Authority informed its Lebanese counterpart that the airline had been nominated to provide air services between the two countries under a 2017 bilateral agreement. Al-Hassan said that his department carried out some routine research on the internet and discovered that TUS Air was partly owned by an Israel-based company which put it in conflict with the Boycott Israel Law. Al-Hassan had already received a letter from the Cypriot Civil Aviation Authority announcing the appointment of TUS Airways as the carrier in air transport services between Cyprus and Lebanon based on a bilateral agreement signed in 2017. The Lebanese official noted that the ban on the Cypriot airline will remain in effect until further notice, and that the decision to close Lebanese airspace to the Cypriot airline was taken within the framework of the Boycott of Israel Law.

by Stephanie T. Williams — Nonresident Senior Fellow – Foreign Policy, Center for Middle East Policy –– Lebanon is sliding into “failed …

by Arab news - Najia Houssari -- Thousands of women in Lebanon are turning to motorcycles for transport as a means to cut costs, with many saying that social stigmas are disappearing amid the country’s worsening economic crisis. Many Lebanese people no longer have the financial means to drive a car, instead opting for motorcycles to withstand the economic crisis. Motorcycle sales make up about 50 percent of the consumer vehicle market, according to car dealerships in Lebanon. Buying and driving motorcycles is no longer limited to young men, delivery workers, university students and professionals who need to move quickly on the roads to reach their workplace at the lowest possible cost. Now, Lebanese women — in their 20s, 30s and 40s — are skillfully driving motorcycles around the country, with some even converting their bikes into taxis.

The economic crisis has placed a great burden on Lebanese women. Some have turned to traditionally male professions to find an income, including selling vegetables in pickup trucks, working in butcher shops, at gas stations, in car repairs and as taxi drivers. Lebanon’s civil war previously revolutionized women’s role in the workplace, with many entering professions for the first time, such as journalism, search and rescue, civil engineering and even frontline military positions. Before the economic crisis, some Lebanese women joined Harley-Davidson luxury motorcycle clubs, took part in car races and competed in mountain climbing competitions. They became a source of inspiration for others.