New York times By Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, Lebanon, and David D. Kirkpatrick from London. Gardiner Harris and Michael R. Gordon contributed reporting from Sydney, Australia, and Rick Gladstone from New York.

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Egypt, Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries severed all ties with Qatar early Monday, in a renewal of a four-year effort to isolate it and in a sign of a new boldness after a visit to the region by President Trump. In an abrupt and surprising move, the five Arab states not only suspended diplomatic relations, as they have in the past, but also cut off land, air and sea travel to and from Qatar. All but Egypt, which has hundreds of thousands of people working there, ordered their citizens to leave the country. Qatar, like other monarchies in the Persian Gulf, is a close ally of Washington, and it hosts a major American military base that commands the United States-led air campaign against the Islamic State.

As such, the feud among regional allies threatens to stress the operations of the American-led coalition and complicate efforts in the region to confront Iran — but could also be a heavy blow to Tehran’s regional ambitions, if Qatar is forced to sever ties. Continue reading the main story Related Coverage Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson offered to broker the impasse on Monday in the hope of preserving the Trump administration’s efforts to create broad coalitions against Iran and terrorist groups in the Middle East. “We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences,” Mr. Tillerson said. The severing of all connections by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen created an immediate crisis for Qatar. Qatari diplomats were given 48 hours to leave their posts in Bahrain, while Qatari citizens were allotted two weeks to depart Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Photo President Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May.

Mr. Trump’s strong support for the Saudis may have helped encourage other Sunni states to renew their campaign against Qatar. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times Qatar, a relatively small country jutting into the Persian Gulf, has a border with Saudi Arabia and is vulnerable to its larger neighbor. It imports almost all of its food, about 40 percent of it directly from Saudi Arabia. Several residents, reached on the internet chat, said that people were stocking up on food and cash. . Air traffic was disrupted, with the United Arab Emirates suspending service to Qatar by its three carriers, Etihad Airways, Emirates and FlyDubai, beginning Tuesday morning. Qatar Airways was banned from Saudi airspace. Saudi Arabia said it was taking the action to “protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism.” The Foreign Ministry of Qatar released a statement saying the action had “no basis in fact” and was “unjustified.” The Iranian government criticized the Saudi-led action against Qatar in a diplomatically worded rebuke. “Neighbors are permanent; geography can’t be changed,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account. “Coercion is never the solution,” Mr. Zarif said. “Dialogue is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan.” It was not immediately clear why the five countries decided to take this action now.

  Reported by Yassmine Alieh –businessnews.com.lb –  Cityblu, a joint venture between local Société Mouawad Edde and Bulgarian firm Soriko, has begun garbage collection and transport in the cazas of Aley and Baabda. According to its contract with the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), the company is also in charge of the Shouf area. […]

Asharq Al-Awsat Beirut – Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri promised on Sunday to hold a cabinet session in Tripoli to endorse the city’s much-needed development projects. Speaking during a “Ramadan Suhour” held in his honor by former Minister Mohammad Safadi in Batroun, Hariri said: “Today, a new atmosphere prevails in the country that is in […]

AFP – BEIRUT: Daesh has claimed responsibility for the London attacks, which left seven people dead, an online news agency affiliated with the terrorist group said Monday. A “detachment of fighters from Islamic State (Daesh) carried out London attacks yesterday” the Aamaq news agency said, referring to Saturday’s assault which saw three men in a […]

by tradearabia.com FFA Private Bank, one of the leading investment companies in Lebanon, is all set to launch a structured investment vehicle to channel the country’s investments in power sector and infrastructure projects. A first-of-its-kind in the country, Lebanon Infrastructure Fund is very advanced in terms of financial sophistication, said its top official. The initial […]

by Gulf news – Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer Beirut: At least six months preparation time will be required before a Lebanese parliamentary election can be held under any new law, Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq said on Friday. Lebanese politicians have indicated they are close to agreeing a new parliamentary election law after months of […]

By Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian – This article represents opinion of the author

Amid renewed congressional efforts to tighten sanctions on Hezbollah, delegations of Lebanese politicians and bankers descended on Washington in May in an attempt to minimize the effects of any new sanctions on the Lebanese banking sector. A draft amendment known as the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendment Act of 2017, which has not yet been formally proposed in the House, would tighten financial regulations on Lebanese banks and extend scrutiny to Hezbollah allies in order to screen for any illicit funding to groups linked to Hezbollah, which the United States, Israel, the Arab League, and others have designated as a terrorist organization.

The draft, first revealed in Lebanese news outlets in April, quickly attracted opposition there. In an April 28 press conference, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that he hoped to work with U.S. politicians to “change” the bill and that such sanctions would be “harsh on Lebanon,” according to the Beirut-based Daily Star. The banking sector is a mainstay of the Lebanese economy. The delegation of bankers and politicians aimed to convey to Congress that, without amendments, the draft regulations would damage their economy and even the overall stability of the country. Yassine Jaber, a Lebanese politician who visited Washington in May, told Reuters, “There’s one question anyone who wants to put pressure on Lebanon should remember: Do you want another failed state on the eastern Mediterranean?” The draft amendment is the second round in a series of efforts intended to squeeze Hezbollah’s financing. In 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, which had been authored by U.S. Representative Ed Royce, a Republican from California. The new draft amendment aims to further strengthen sanctions on the political group’s financing both in Lebanon and abroad, and is in line with President Donald Trump’s emphasis on fighting terrorism financing, especially groups such as Hezbollah which receive backing from Iran.

by Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer Beirut: Lebanon has been ranked third globally for having the most smokers per capita, according to the data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the year 2015. Lebanon has been ranked poorly despite Law 174, which was approved by Najib Mikati’s Cabinet in 2012, and that intended […]

by Asharq Al-Awsat Beirut- Lebanon’s electoral law remains at the center of meetings held between different political parties striving to reach an agreement on a structure that is acceptable by all sides. However, discussions on such a draft-law was absent from Wednesday’s cabinet session chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who said he was optimistic […]

by pri.org

For all its charm, Beirut can be a difficult place to live. The roads are often clogged with traffic, the sidewalks are narrow and it seems as though there’s a construction site on every corner. Most cities have outdoor places where residents can escape the noise and the chaos. But in Beirut, they’re in short supply — and if developers are allowed to have their way, there may be even fewer still. Beirut’s only public beach — Ramlet al-Baida — is the latest battleground in the fight between Beirutis and authorities over public space in the city. On a brisk, windy day at the beach, Mohammad Ayoub, an activist who campaigns for the protection of public land, stands facing a construction site jutting out onto the sand. Vehicles work on the construction of the Eden Rock Resort on the south end of Ramlet al-Baida beach, in Beirut

“All laws and international agreements, the constitution of Lebanon, say that everything on the sand is public space. So it’s strange to find someone who is pretending that he owns the sand,” he sighs. The beach development now under construction is called the Eden Bay Resort, described by its developers in a promotional video as “an exclusive community by the sea.” When finished — all 5,400 square feet of it — this “sanctuary of luxury and refinement” will feature high-end apartments, a five-star hotel, a spa, swimming pool and a jetty for residents to moor their yachts. It will cater to Beirut’s upper class and wealthy foreign visitors, and it will be unaffordable to most Beirutis. This bothers activists campaigning against the development. “Public space is the spirit of the city. It’s where the city meets. It’s where the children go and play, where young people go and do different kinds of activities and develop their talents. Without public space the people will be more stressful and bored. They will not feel like they belong to the city,” Ayoub says. As far as Ayoub sees it, what little public space that Beirut has is under attack.

Across town, the largest and only substantial park in the city is under threat by plans to build a hospital. Farther down the coast from Ramlet al-Baida, a popular picnic spot on the rocks was closed to the public a couple of years back. Even the city’s downtown area is regularly closed off to the public for security reasons. Densely populated, scarce public space Detailed censuses of the population in Lebanon are hard to come by, for various reasons. But a 2013 survey by the Public Health Ministry estimated Beirut’s population to be around 420,000. That’s around 55,000 people per square mile. For comparison, New York City has around 11,000 people per square mile. Manhattan is more dense, at 72,000 people per square mile, but its public space is incomparably more. Map: Manhattan versus Beirut public space Even famously densely populated and built-up cities like New York have far more green and public space than Beirut does. Up-to-date information on Beirut’s public spaces is limited.