Yassin Fawaz- Forbes

BEIRUT–For the better part of four decades, Lebanon has been battered by one knockout punch after another. Many of its wounds have been self-inflicted–civil war, sectarian strife, political paralysis, corruption–but the country has also been beset from the outside. It was also under Syrian military domination for years, invaded twice by Israel, manipulated by Iran, and staggered by the bombing death of its former prime minister, Rafiq Hariri. Now the tiny country is struggling to feed, house and educate more than 1 million refugees from next-door Syria.

What else could go wrong? It could miss a major economic opportunity, partly for reasons beyond its control but partly because the country can’t get its act together.

Just over a year ago Lebanon, which needs all the help it can get, was preparing to auction the first licenses to drill for gas in its territorial waters. Nearly 50 major international energy corporations, including Total, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, had qualified in April 2013 to enter the bidding for exploration licenses. Since then, vast new gas reservoirs have been found in the waters of Egypt and Israel, increasing the likelihood that the pool extends into Lebanese waters as well, but nothing has happened in Lebanon. The process has come to a halt.

Catholic Herald

ISIS terrorists released 37 Syrian Christians over the weekend, part of a group of 200 Assyrians they kidnapped in February.

The Assyrian Human Rights Network posted pictures on its Facebook page of the newly freed civilians arriving in the predominantly ethnic Assyrian village of Tal Tamr, in the northeastern Hassakeh province. The photos show a woman kissing the hand of an elderly woman in tears, and a priest greeting the former captives in a church ceremony.

The group said in a statement that negotiations continue for the release of another 124 people who remain in captivity, according to AP news. Edmond Gabriel, chairman of the Assyrian Charitable Association in Hassakeh province, said 27 of the released are women. He said another group of captives was expected to be released today.

By Hasan Lakkis, Daily Star Lebanon

Prime Minister Tammam Salam will fly to Riyadh Tuesday to attend the 4th Summit of South American-Arab Countries, held once every three years and to discuss the latest developments related to a Saudi funded arms deal to equip the Lebanese Army. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil will be accompanying Salam.

This summit is aimed at increasing South-South cooperation and implementing policy coordination measures through multilateral forums.

Brazil proposed to establish the conference in 2003, aiming to draw together leaders and civil societies from South American and Arab League member states to focus on diplomatic coordination and common issues of interest.

By Francesca Paci, New York Times News Service

Beirut: An Italian diplomat once said that “the darkest corners of a crisis can be the most illuminating in understanding geopolitical dynamics”. This is where Lebanon finds itself: One of the few Middle Eastern countries that is not at war, yet one suffering in the trenches nonetheless.

These days Lebanon is far from the glare of the international media, except for minor coverage of the ‘You Stink’ protests against the waste collection crisis in Beirut. But it does find itself squarely in the sights of foreign experts, who see Lebanon’s ever fragile sectarian equilibrium as the key to understanding the future of the region.

In private, one eminent member of the French foreign ministry confides that Lebanon is “the extreme frontier of local stability, where at any moment the entire structure can come falling down like a house of cards”.

by Al Bawaba

AFP reports that Lebanese officials arrested three people on Sunday on allegations of spying for Israel.

A Syrian man, his Lebanese wife, and a Lebanese man confessed to the charges against them upon arrest. They admitted to gathering information on military and government targets. 

In addition, the trio allegedly recorded "sensitive" locations in southern Lebanon "and sent the footage to their employers to be used in later attacks," AFP reports.

Pamela Engel

Smoking isn’t allowed. Women are told to stay at home and must be fully covered if they go outside. Punishment for stealing is amputation.

ISIS keeps tight controls on all aspects of life in its self-declared Islamic "caliphate," the swath of territory it has seized across Iraq and Syria over the past 18 months.

To help keep the population in line, the militants have been increasingly limiting civilian access to outside information.

Before ISIS terrorists took over cities like Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, residents were able to get online through internet cafes and Wi-Fi, Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, an activist with the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, told Business Insider last month via Skype.

The internet cafes were in each neighborhood and had Wi-Fi extenders to make the signal stronger and able to reach nearby homes.

by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.

The cardinal said that Muslims look on Christians as weak and believe that since they have no children and barely practice their faith, Islam will easily conquer them. Sadly, he said, Muslims take their faith more seriously than most Christians, and they are gaining ground because of it.

“I have often heard from Muslims that their goal is to conquer Europe with two weapons: their faith and their birthrate,” al-Rahi said in a recent interview with Famiglia Cristiana, an Italian Catholic weekly magazine.

For the Muslims, the Cardinal said, “the practice of the faith is essential and fundamental. In Saudi Arabia they go to Friday prayers even if they need a walking stick. They know the Koran by heart, and when they talk they often cite it. The same is not true for Christians who do not refer either to the Bible or the teachings of the Church.”

By Tarajia Morrell

IN 2004, Kamal Mouzawak, a former food and travel writer, launched Souk el Tayeb—Lebanon’s first farmers’ market—with the goal of celebrating small producers, fostering a model of sustainable agriculture and helping unite a divided country. Every Saturday morning in downtown Beirut, a neighborhood that’s home to shops like Hermès and Gucci, makeshift stalls fill the streets and 100 farmers lay out their wares. Amid Lebanon’s clash of cultures, religions and classes, the market demonstrates Mouzawak’s campaign to cultivate good food, make it available in a bustling metropolis and sell it at a fair price. Now, over a decade since he founded Souk el Tayeb, Mouzawak has expanded his influence with the launch of Beit Douma, a guest house with an eye toward architectural preservation.

John Owens – VOA