by Gulfnews - Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer

Beirut: Thousands of protesters marked Labour Day on Monday as labour union leaders vented their anger against authorities who struggle to deliver on promises of pay rises. The demonstration coincided with the recent anger over the government’s decision to delay the long-awaited salary rises for teachers, civil servants and the military. On Sunday, the National Federation of Workers’ and Employees’ Trade Unions (FENASOL) and the Domestic Workers’ Union in Lebanon (DWUL) held a pre-protest to express anger over the delays and also organised Monday’s rally near its headquarters at the Cola Roundabout, led by Castro Abdullah, the organisation’s chairman. Abdullah declared that, “May 1st [2017] comes carrying with it more tragedies and crises that make joy and hope for a decent life something very far-fetched for the working class”.

The Lebanese Communist Party added its voice to the Monday rally, while tenants upset with the government’s latest proposals to increase fixed rents, rallied in Beirut’s Ashrafieh neighbourhood. Ahead of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Sa‘ad Hariri marked Labour Day with an assurance that the Lebanese government was ready to tackle all challenges and already began implementing a series of measures to reduce competition for the Lebanese labour market. Hariri clarified that authorities were working to alleviate the suffering faced by workers, and said various measures to reduce “competition for the Lebanese labour force, actuating the economic cycle and encouraging investments to increase employment opportunities” were already being implemented.

The premier reiterated his pledge to present the proposed wage scale to the parliament as soon as possible while pointing out the realities of the market being flooded by cheap Syrian manpower — one of the many repercussions of the six-year Syrian civil war next door. Hariri reiterated that the influx of Syrian workers deprived Lebanese of jobs — many who are in serious economic need. He pointed out that the refugees were also placing a huge strain on public services.

by The New Arab -- A new plan to make Beirut go cycle-friendly has gotten off to a rocky start, after pictures have emerged of drivers traversing into a new car-free cycle lane. The new bike lane in the Downtown area was only laid less than a week ago, but some cars have been photographed driving over the line - or even parking in the bike lane. Supporters of the bike scheme have been quick to point out that the 20 metre-long bike lane was empty at the time. Others on social media also said that more needs to be done to raise awareness of bicycles in a city where bike riders are few and far between. Lebanon launched its first bike sharing scheme in the town of Byblos project in January, supported and financed by private entities Bike 4 All and The IBL Bank. In Beirut, the municipality will reportedly provide the space for 25 similar bike hiring stations, but will not be making any financial contribution. If successful, the project could be expanded to cover other major cities, such as Tripoli in the north, where a limited cycling lane was launched recently but was unsucessful, and Sidon and Byblos. One of the organisers behind the project, Jawad Sbeity, posted on social media that he wanted Beirut to be a bike friendly city by 2030.
 The bike scheme has received broad support from the government, but not much is known on the Prime Minister's personal opinion of the scheme.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Egypt and Lebanon Do Hoang Long (right) presented his letter of credential to Lebanese President Michel Aoun at a …

by AFP: Lebanon launched a bike-sharing programme in its capital Beirut on Sunday, hoping to cut down on the congested city’s notorious …