The authorities impounded Wednesday several tons of rotten meat and chicken in a warehouse that supplies restaurants and supermarkets in Greater Beirut, judicial sources said. [DailyStar] The president of the republic Michel Sleiman has warned earlier that no one will be allowed to mess with people’s health and not be punished.   Watch the […]

  President Michel Suleiman slammed on Saturday the rise in the discovery of spoiled food products in Lebanon, deeming such cases as “unacceptable.” He reiterated his complete refusal of any political cover to any side that will harm Lebanese citizens’ health and threaten their well-being. The president stressed that the judicial authorities should follow up on these […]

  Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday held talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan, wrapping up a three-day visit to the kingdom. After the meeting, al-Rahi said he sensed Abdullah’s keenness on avoiding violence in the region and encouraging dialogue aimed at reaching political settlements.  "I expressed to him our appreciation for his wisdom […]

  Cheikh Malek el Khazen is the founder of Khazen.org website and an expert in the field of technology and communication. Khazen.org mission statement: Khazen.org is a website dedicated to the De Khazen family, a family associated with the history of Lebanon, the Maronite Patriarch, the Lebanese Presidency, Mount-Lebanon, the Maronite community and the worldwide […]

  Here’s a nice video by L’Orient-Le Jour commemorating the international women’s day. [YouTube]   En cette journée de la femme, L’Orient-Le Jour a décidé de donner la parole aux hommes, aux Libanais en l’occurrence, et leur a demandé ce qu’il faudrait faire, selon eux, pour améliorer la condition de la femme au Liban, un pays […]

  Patriarch Rai has continued his opening to all political parties after contacting Mustaqbal movement chief MP Fouad Saniora to congratulate him on their new political document and discuss it. Patriarch Rai expressed his satisfaction in the name of the Maronite Church and said that he supports the foundations this document sets between various Lebanese […]

  The Maronite bishops council condemned on Wednesday the ongoing dispute over the new official history book that is being prepared to be taught at schools, saying that it should serve the country’s interests and recount events objectively.It said in a statement after its monthly meeting: “The new history book should include the whole of […]

  The Beirut accusatory body acquitted on Wednesday the owners of the Fassouh building that collapsed on January 15. The body had approved Beirut Examining Magistrate Ghassan Owaidat’s decision to acquit Claude and Michel Saadeh of the charges against them. The two owners have however been released on a LL40 million and 75 million bail. [Naharnet]   […]

  The implementation of the smoke-free law has started today and all politicians are now banned from smoking inside the Lebanese parliament. The fine for the person smoking will be 135,000 LL.

Reuters) – Violence and bloodshed is turning the "Arab Spring" into winter, the head of Lebanon’s Maronite Church said, threatening Christians and Muslims alike across the Middle East. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, whose Maronite Church also has a strong presence in Syria, said change could not be brought to the Arab world by force and that Christians feared the turmoil was helping extremist Muslim groups.

"We are with the Arab Spring but we are not with this spring of violence, war, destruction and killing. This is turning to winter," Rai told Reuters in Bkirki, seat of the Maronite church in hills overlooking the Mediterranean Sea north of Beirut.

"We say that we cannot implement reforms by force and arms. No one can guess the scale of the great losses and damage which could result," said Rai, speaking this week in an ornately decorated reception room in the patriarchate in Bkirki.