طرح لقاء الجمهورية خطة من خمسة بنود وطالب بأن يُعلن المرشح للانتخابات الرئاسية التزامه بها ليكون رئيساً جامعاً للبنانيين ويحمل رؤية إنقاذية للوطن تقوم على أسس ومبادئ واضحة.

وعلم "الثائر" من مصدر مقرّب من الرئيس الأسبق ميشال سليمان ، أنه لم يطرح هذه الخريطة اعتقاداً منه انها ستنفذ غداً، لكن ليفتح طريق الشجاعة للطوائف الأقل عدداً، وللمسيحيين، بأن يطالبوا بتنفيذ اتفاق الطائف والدستور، خاصة لجهة إلغاء الطائفية السياسية، لأن إلغاءها على البارد، ووفقاً لرؤية مستقبلية، هو الأفضل والأكثر حكمة.

ويضيف: فلنضع الهندسات اللازمة اليوم، طوعاً وبالتفاهم، طالما أن الدستور يضمن إلغاء الطائفية، ويحرص على مراعاة هواجس الطوائف عبر إنشاء مجلس الشيوخ تتمثّلُ فيه كل الطوائف اللبنانية.كما أنّ ترؤوس رئيس الجمهورية لهذه الهيئة الوطنية، ووضع خطةً مرحلية ، وفقاً للخطة المرحلية التي ينص الدستور على وضعها، والتي يمكن أن تمتد لسنوات، مرحلة وراء أخرى، يتم خلالها اختبار فعالية مجلس الشيوخ.
كما أن التوافق على توضيح بعض مواد الدستور، التي يكتنفها الغموض يشكّل أيضا ضمانة أساسية وإضافية.

ويعتبر الرئيس سليمان أن البند "ح" في مقدمة الدستور، الذي جعل إلغاء الطائفیة السیاسیة، هدفاً وطنياً أساسياً، یقتضي العمل على تحقیقه وفق خطة مرحلیة، وهذا كفيل بضبط الإلغاء للطائفية السياسية. ولقد نص أيضا الدستور في البند "ي" على أن "لاشرعية لأي سلطة تتناقض مع صيغة العيش المشترك" .

by al-monitor.com -- Adam Lucente @Adam_Lucente -- Hezbollah recently threw its support behind Suleiman Frangieh, but it could settle for a compromise candidate. Only some of those seeking the office oppose the Iran-backed group’s influence in the country. Lebanese President Michel Aoun left office last October, finishing a six-year term that saw a deepening political divide and a worsening economic crisis. Since Aoun's departure, the Lebanese parliament has convened — and failed — more than 10 times to elect a new president. The position under Lebanon's sectarian system is held by a Maronite Christian, and the ongoing void is exacerbating Lebanon’s political instability and economic crisis. According to the Lebanese constitution, the 128-member legislature requires a majority of two-thirds (85) to elect a president in the first round, and then in the second round, a candidate can be elected by a simple majority of 65 lawmakers. As the chamber continues to deliberate on the issue in effort to get to the 85 votes, here is a breakdown of the top four who have emerged as the leading potential successors to Aoun:

Story by Marc Schulz, Contributor -- cnbc -- In 1938, Harvard researchers embarked on a study that continues to this day to find out: What makes us happy in life? The researchers gathered health records from 724 people from all over the world, asking detailed questions about their lives at two-year intervals. As participants entered mid- and late-life, the Harvard Study often asked about retirement. Based on their responses, the No. 1 challenge people faced in retirement was not being able to replace the social connections that had sustained them for so long at work.

Retirees don't miss working, they miss the people When it comes to retirement, we often stress about things like financial concerns, health problems and caregiving. But people who fare the best in retirement find ways to cultivate connections. And yet, almost no one talks about the importance of developing new sources of meaning and purpose. One participant, when asked what he missed about being a doctor for nearly 50 years, answered: "Absolutely nothing about the work itself. I miss the people and the friendships." Leo DeMarco, another participant, had a similar feeling: After he retired as a high school teacher, he found it hard to stay in touch with his colleagues. "I get spiritual sustenance from talking shop. It's wonderful to help someone acquire skills," he said. "Teaching young people was what started my whole process of exploring."

By Associated Press -- French authorities have asked Lebanese prosecutors to detain two people suspected of involvement in a 1983 bombing in Beirut that killed dozens of French troops, Lebanese judicial officials said Wednesday. It is highly unlikely that Lebanese authorities will detain the suspects nearly 40 years after the attacks. Neither has ever been taken into custody. The request identified the two suspects as Yousef al-Khalil and Sanaa al-Khalil and called on Lebanon’s prosecutor’s office to detain and question them, then inform French authorities of the outcome. It was not immediately clear if the two are related.

On Oct. 23, 1983, suicide car bombers simultaneously blew up a U.S. Marine base and French paratroopers headquarters in Beirut, killing 241 American servicemembers and 58 French troops. The American and French troops were deployed in Lebanon a year earlier as part of a multinational force following Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. A pro-Iranian Shiite group, Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the 1983 attacks, which marked the beginning of the end of Western attempts to stop Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Several months later, the peacekeeping force of U.S., French, British and Italian troops left Lebanon. Islamic Jihad was believed to be linked to Hezbollah, although Hezbollah officials have denied that. The judicial officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, did not say whether the two are members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The request did not say whether the two are still alive, the officials said without giving further details.