by dailystar.com.lb -- BEIRUT: Prominent contractor Samir Khatib has emerged as the favorite candidate to be named prime minister this week, hours after caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri withdrew his candidacy, Future Movement officials said Tuesday. “The Future Movement’s [parliamentary] bloc is set to meet Wednesday to outline its position on naming its candidate for the premiership after Hariri announced he was withdrawing his candidacy,” Mustafa Alloush, a member of the Future Movement’s politburo, told The Daily Star. “The tendency within the Future bloc is to support Samir Khatib for the premiership. Being a neutral and nonpolitical figure and a successful businessman whose name was not linked to allegations of corruption, Khatib meets all the qualifications demanded by the protest movement,” Alloush, a former Future MP, said.

He was referring to thousands of Lebanese who have taken to the streets since Oct. 17 in an unprecedented popular uprising, demanding an overhaul of the country’s decades-old sectarian ruling system, early parliamentary elections, the formation of a technocratic government to carry out economic reforms and fight corruption, and the return of “looted public funds.” Alloush said Hariri’s decision to bow out of the premiership was final. “If Khatib is chosen by the Future bloc as its candidate for the premiership, this means that Prime Minister Hariri and the bloc will nominate him during the binding parliamentary consultations to be held by President Michel Aoun,” Alloush added. “Contacts among the country’s main political parties, and also with Hariri, are focused on the nomination of Khatib for prime minister.” Earlier Tuesday, Khatib said he was ready to form a new government if there was consensus among the political parties on his nomination. “I was approached by different sides since I am close to everyone,” Khatib was quoted as saying by local broadcaster MTV. “I am ready to form a government and take over the premiership in order to serve the country during these exceptional times.” Khatib is an executive vice president of engineering company Khatib & Alami, according to its website. But shortly after, Hariri’s office released a statement saying he distanced himself from any names being circulated for the position and that his choice for premier would be announced during parliamentary consultations at Baabda Palace in a statement to be issued by him.

by Rhana Natour  -- pbs.org -- 

Rawan Taha is having a horrible few weeks. This month, before her preschool students filed into the room at the daycare and education center in Beirut where she works, Taha spotted a white piece of paper on her desk. It was a letter from the school principal informing her and the entire teaching staff that their December pay might be slashed by half. “Let’s hope January will be better in order to prevent me from taking other measures,” the letter read. Taha was devastated, but not surprised.

In recent weeks, Taha’s friends have received similarly bad news–a sudden pay cut or no pay at all. In early November, Taha was told she would no longer be paid in U.S. dollars. Her paycheck is now paid out in Lebanese pound— a currency with a value that dropped by 40 percent in a one week span. Thirty-one-year-old Rawan Taha, who works as a preschool teacher, said people in Lebanon are protesting because they have "nothing to lose." Photo courtesy of Rawan TahaThirty-one-year-old Rawan Taha, who works as a preschool teacher, said people in Lebanon are protesting because they have “nothing to lose.” Photo courtesy of Rawan Taha It’s been over a month since massive protests broke out across Lebanon set off by a tax on WhatsApp calls and fueled by public discontent towards the Lebanese government which they blame for the country’s economic instability. The unrest has shuttered schools, banks and businesses. With limited employment options available, Taha and her colleagues feel forced to endure these measures. “We don’t have any alternative,” she said, “No one is hiring so we all have to just give in.” The protests are a result of long simmering economic anxieties from a citizenry that feels financially squeezed at every turn. A huge swath of Lebanese households are grappling with a crippling combination of high living costs, low wages and a government so financially indebted it can’t provide reliable public services. In a country where the minimum wage is $400 per month, baseline living costs have creeped up to levels that rival New York City, which has a monthly minimum wage that is six times higher.

Lights out…again

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri slammed on Monday the clashes that started a day earlier in Beirut's downtown between civil society protesters and supporters of two Shiite political parties, the National News Agency reported. Around 10 people were injured due to the clashes between civil society protesters who blocked Beirut's Ring Bridge and supporters of two Shiite political parties Hezbollah and Amal Movement. "What happened is condemned by all standards," said Berri, who is head of Amal Movement. He also called on the Lebanese army and security agencies to ensure that all roads are opened to facilitate the transport of citizens throughout the country. "We call upon the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces to make sure that all roads are opened at all times in a bid to avoid violence," he said. The clashes lasted until Monday early morning while security forces had to use tears gas to disperse the two groups. Lebanese authorities have so far failed to put an end to nationwide demonstrations which started on Oct. 17 in Lebanon aimed at toppling the current political ruling class.

Lebanon clashes threaten to crack open fault lines

By BASSEM MROUE and ZEINA KARAM Associated Press -- BEIRUT (AP) — Increasingly violent clashes between Lebanese protesters and supporters of the militant Hezbollah group are putting Lebanon’s military and security forces in a delicate position, threatening to crack open the country’s dangerous fault lines amid a political deadlock. For weeks, the Lebanese security forces have gone to great pains to protect anti-government protesters, in stark contrast to Iraq, where police have killed more than 340 people over the past month in a bloody response to similar protests. The overnight violence — some of the worst since protests against the country’s ruling elite began last month — gave a preview into a worst-case scenario for Lebanon’s crisis, with Lebanon’s U.S.-trained military increasingly in the middle between pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions. By attacking the protesters Sunday night, Hezbollah sent a frightening message that it is willing to resort to violence to protect its political power, increasing the likelihood of more violence if the protests persist. Confronting the powerful Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah, however, is out of the question for the military — doing so would wreck the neutral position it seeks to maintain and could split its ranks disastrously. "The army is in a difficult position facing multiple challenges and moving cautiously between the lines," said Fadia Kiwan, professor of political science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She said the military has sought to protect the protesters and freedom of expression but is increasingly grappling with how to deal with road closures and violence.

New York (CNN Business) By Paul R. La Monica— Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates can clearly afford a lot of leather wallets from Louis …