http://www.theguardian.com

Though Lebanon has been swept by a gentrifying and disfiguring development rush, some older monuments still stand tall. Strolling downhill from the Clemenceau neighbourhood for a coffee on the seaside Corniche, you’ll see the towering building of the Holiday Inn: bullet-riddled and rocket-pierced.

The once-plush hotel, which opened for business just two years before the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975, has remained in Beirut’s collective memory – not for its glamour or architectural design, but as a front-line, a demarcation between east and west, and a symbol of war.

The Holiday Inn represented an affluent time for the city: the building became part of a luxury developmental bubble at a time when Beirut’s banks were growing fat on deposits from the region’s petrodollars. However, the civil war obliterated the hotel’s ambitions of becoming a social hub, with cinemas and restaurants crowned by a rooftop rotating restaurant towering over the district.

  The Internal Security Forces announced on Thursday that the second phase of the implementation of  the new traffic law will begin on Friday. It said in a statement that fines will be issued against a number of violations that were not  included in the first phase of the law. The violations encompassed in the […]

  BEIRUT: Involving children in the local decision-making process might seem unusual but some municipalities have been working to do just that through an Italian-Lebanese project to inspire young people to become more active in civic life. “The Child Friendly Cities” project was launched in 2011 in collaboration with several municipalities, part of a Social […]

  The Islamic State handed to Lebanese authorities the corpse of a soldier, who was killed in last year’s battle in Arsal, and one of a civilian who was killed in the northeastern border town’s outskirts, reported the National News Agency on Friday. It said that soldier Ali al-Ali was killed on August 2 during […]

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk

Cardinal Bechara Rai tells UNESCO that Christians are ‘irreplaceable peacemakers’ and, without them, ‘Islam will fall into the hands of fundamentalists’

The exodus of Christians from the Middle East — due to wars, conflicts, socio-economic crises and persecution — will weaken moderate Islam “which, thanks to the Islamic-Christian conviviality, is so far the vast majority of Muslims in the Middle East,” said Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai.

Speaking at UNESCO in Paris on April 25, the cardinal said Christians were “irreplaceable peacemakers” and, without them, “Islam will fall into the hands of fundamentalists.” He called on Europe and the international community “to ensure that Christians remain in their countries.”

The first condition to save this presence, he said, is “the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

By Emily Jacquard

More than 200,000 killed. Nearly 4 million refugees. Four years since its onset, the Syrian Civil War has become one of the most destructive conflicts in the world, with a devastating effect on the entire Middle East.

Lebanon is bearing one of the heaviest burdens of the crisis, as civilians flow out of Syria and flee for safety.  Since the start of the war, 1.5 million refugees have crossed the border that the two nations share. Before the conflict, the population of Lebanon was about 4.5 million; in just 4 years, it has ballooned and now roughly 25 percent of the overall population of the country is actually made up of displaced Syrians. The challenges posed by the huge population influx are many, and the obstacles for the Lebanese government and the international community can seem insurmountable. As the world watches the continuing crisis in horror, it must focus on the increasing, urgent needs in Lebanon as a key component of reducing suffering and increasing stability in the region.

Angus McDowall, Reuters

Saudi King Salman on Wednesday appointed interior minister Mohammed bin Nayef as his new heir and made his son, defense minister Mohammed bin Salman, second-in-line to succeed in a dramatic reshuffle in the world’s top oil exporter.

By making Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, crown prince, and Mohammed bin Salman, who is thought to be in his early 30s, deputy crown prince, the Saudi monarch has set the kingdom’s succession in stone for decades and strengthened his branch of the dynasty.

He also replaced veteran foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had served in the role since October 1975, with the kingdom’s Washington ambassador Adel al-Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post.

  A number of projects in Lebanon that are being funded by loans from the World Bank have been put on hold because of the obstruction of legislation at parliament, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday. Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem revealed that the organization’s projects […]

  BEIRUT: French President Francois Hollande conveyed his country’s readiness to help end Lebanon’s 11-month presidential deadlock to the Maronite patriarch Tuesday, and reiterated France’s support for the Lebanese Army. The National News Agency reported that Hollande spoke to Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai of the deep bonds between Lebanon and France, voicing his country’s readiness […]

  A deal to release captive servicemen held hostage by the al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front entered the last stages as a Qatari-appointed negotiator put the final touches on the agreement last week. A source said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Wednesday that the release of the captive is awaiting a decision on the date […]