Khazen

Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urge lebanese ot work together

BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said Tuesday a new president should be elected "as soon as possible," reiterating his support for the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman. "We support Suleiman because the country needs a president who is for all the Lebanese and who does not distinguish between one party and another," Sfeir said.  "The Lebanese are now divided, some are with the East and some with the West," the patriarch added, urging them to be only Lebanese.

"We are the ones responsible for our country. We have to stand united in order to preserve our country’s past, present and future," he said.  MP Robert Ghanem said after meeting Sfeir: "We hope to put an end to the presidential election because the latter constitute the starting point to ending all other problems." Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani called on the Lebanese on Tuesday to participate "massively" in Thursday’s rally to commemorate the third anniversary of former Premier Rafik Hariri’s killing.

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Jumblatt offers ‘war or peace’ to Lebanon opposition

BEIRUT (AFP) Feb 10- At least two people were wounded in an exchange of fire between supporters of rival political factions in Lebanon, a security official said, further heightening tensions in the troubled country. The incident occurred as a convoy of supporters from the Progressive Socialist Party of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt was driving past the local headquarters of the rival Lebanese Democratic Party in Aley, about 15 kilometres (eight miles) east of Beirut the official told AFP. "Shots were heard and a passer-by was wounded by a stray bullet," he said, describing his condition as serious. He said a girl who was travelling in the party convoy was slightly injured. An official from Jumblatt’s party — which is part of the ruling anti-Syrian coalition — told AFP that four people were injured when the convoy came under fire.

But a statement from the Democratic Party said its Aley headquarters had come under fire from PSP "militia members", triggering an armed confrontation. It warned that the incident could spark civil strife among the Druze population and said Jumblatt would be held responsible.Several similar incidents have occurred recently in Beirut, with tensions running high because of a long-running political crisis pitting the ruling coalition against the Syrian-backed opposition.

(AFP) 10 FebShots were fired in an altercation on Sunday between supporters of Lebanon’s parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and speaker Nabih Berri’s security services in Beirut, a security official said. "A convoy from the Future movement was driving by Berri’s residence. Apparently some heated words were exchanged with Berri’s security service and shots were fired," the official told AFP. He said there did not appear to be any injuries. Several similar incidents have occurred recently in Beirut, with tensions running high amid a long-running political crisis

Jumblatt had earlier launched an outspoken assault on the opposition, warning his side was ready for war.

 Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a key figure in Lebanon’s ruling anti-Syrian majority, on Sunday launched a verbal assault on the opposition, warning his side was ready for war. "You want disorder? It will be welcomed. You want war? It will be welcomed. We have no problem with weapons, no problem with missiles. We will take them from you," Jumblatt told a news conference.

Speaking four days before the third anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafiq hariri, Jumblatt warned against a spiral dragging everyone into unrest. "If the political vacuum continues, if arming and training continue… if the charge of treason and assassinations continue — and it seems that will be the case — we will all be dragged towards disorder," he said. But Jumblatt added: "If they (the opposition) want peace, the Forces of March 14 (the parliamentary majority) are ready for it also."

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‘Caramel’ director styles a view of everyday life in Lebanon

By Borzou Daragahi

Los Angeles Times / February 5, 2008 BEIRUT – In a nation shaken by war, divided by religious strife, and paralyzed by political feuds, Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki found the perfect subject for her first film: a hair salon filled with chatty women obsessed with sex and looks.more stories like this "Caramel," the 33-year-old Labaki’s bittersweet film of love, heartache, and friendship, has quickly become one of the most successful Lebanese films ever, scooping up awards, breaking sales records, and earning kudos on the international film circuit. It will begin showing in US art houses Friday, including at Kendall Square in Cambridge.

"It was not easy because I made a film that was talking about life and colors and people and love and everyday life when my country was at war again," Labaki said during a recent chat over mint-flavored lemonades at an old-fashioned cafe on Beirut’s Gemayzee Street. "I think I dealt with it, and I understood that maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be; that it’s my mission to show a Lebanon that has nothing to do with war and this negative image that people have."

"Caramel" follows a group of women, mostly played by amateur actors, whose lives revolve around a Beirut hair salon. Layale, played by Labaki, is tangled in a steamy romance with a married man. Shiite Muslim Nisrine reveals to co-workers that she’s not a virgin, a fact that could complicate her upcoming marriage. Rima, a lesbian, falls in love with one of her glamorous clients. Middle-aged Jamale struggles to maintain her acting career while Rose must decide between pursuing an autumn romance or caring for her deranged sister Lili.

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Lebanon majority calls mass rally to commemorate Hariri murder

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon’s anti-Syrian parliamentary majority called on its supporters on Wednesday to join a mass rally next week to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri. The March 14 forces call on all the Lebanese to gather at Martyrs’ Square (in central Beirut) on February 14," to mark […]

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Lebanese businesses set on expansion despite crisis

Mona Alami , Inter Press, BEIRUT: A bomb tears through the bustling Chevrolet area on the outskirts of Beirut. Bad news travels fast: Captain Wissam Eid from the Internal Security Forces has been killed in the blast. This is a typical day for Lebanese citizens. The past year has already been grim for most Lebanese businesses. Crisis after crisis has weighed down heavily on the land of the cedars. A permanent protest movement, security problems, a summer war in a Palestinian refugee camp, and sporadic bombings have brought Lebanon to its knees.

But as the political situation tips further in the direction of widespread insecurity, Lebanese businesses around the country are clinging to the motto, "the show must go on." Expansion seems to be the word on the street in Beirut, no matter what the uncertain future may hold. Retailer ABC, a major department store and mall with seven outlets, two main flagship stores and a staff of over 1,000 is currently revamping one of its main branches in Dbayyeh.

"In March, we are also launching a new section extending over an entire floor of 8,000 square meters dedicated to children, dubbed Kidsville. It will also include a 500 square-meter playground, an array of kids’ accessories and a coffee shop, La Mie Doree," says Robert Fadel, ABC’s general manager. A second big store in the Achrafieh suburb of Beirut is adding an 800 square-meter extension for a playground. The Johnny R. Saade group is also jumping on the expansion bandwagon. Its travel and tourism arm, Wild Discovery, will be setting up shop in Kaslik in a few months.

"We decided to push forward with the opening of new branches in Lebanon despite the prevailing situation, following the simple strategy that one has to invest and position oneself in times of relative crisis to prepare for the inevitable economic and political recovery that can be foreseen," says Sandro Saade, one of the company’s owners. "This opening is also justified by a strategic objective to cover the northern Beirut area, where there is a demand for high quality travel services."

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Lebanon opposition demands veto power

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese Shiite opposition chief Hasan Nasrallah and Christian ally Michel Aoun on Wednesday demanded veto power in a future government to solve the country’s protracted presidential crisis. In a rare joint television interview on the second anniversary of their controversial alliance, Nasrallah and Aoun also insisted that their union helped spare Civil War.

We cannot give up veto power because we cannot be mere spectators within the government," Aoun said in the three-and-a-half-hour interview broadcast on his Free Patriotic Movement’s Orange TV."It would spell our destruction.""Any attempt to evict the opposition from decision-making is unacceptable," Aoun added.Nasrallah for his part insisted that veto power "is the mechanism that guarantees building trust" with the ruling majority, "The problem today is the loss of trust and any political solution demands trust," Nasrallah said.

So far 13 sessions of parliament called to elect a new president since September have had to be scrapped A new session is scheduled for February 11. Arab League chief Amr Mussa was due to return to Beirut on Thursday after two previous mediation trips last month during which he proposed a three-point rescue plan.

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Lebanese army arrests 17 over deadly riot

by Jocelyne Zablit, BEIRUT (AFP) Lebanon’s army arrested 17 people on Saturday, including several soldiers, over the shooting deaths of seven people during protests in Beirut that raised fears of civil unrest in a country already gripped by political crisis. "In light of the events that took place on January 27 in the region of Mar Michael and Shiyah and that led to the deaths of seven civilians and left a number of people injured, including soldiers, the military police ordered these arrests," a statement said.

Those detained included three officers, two non-commissioned officers, six soldiers and another six civilians. The statement said some were arrested for causing public disorder and several for illegally carrying weapons. It said 29 civilians, including five minors, had been released after questioning, while the identities of another three suspected of having incited violence were being checked.

The statement said 85 civilians and 120 soldiers had been questioned, and that weapons seized were being tested to see if they had been fired. Sunday’s violence broke out after youths protesting power cuts in the Shiite district of Shiyah entered the nearby Christian area of Ein el-Rommaneh and began throwing stones and setting cars on fire. The situation quickly escalated after a member of the Shiite party Amal was shot in the back.

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Lebanese Army tight-lipped on progress in riot probe

Daily star, By Hani M. Bathish 
 BEIRUT: The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) refused to give any details about its investigation into Sunday’s riots before its conclusion, as the death toll from the clashes rose on Tuesday to nine after Jihad Rashid Munzir died in hospital of injuries sustained in Mar Mikhael. The army refused to confirm the identities or political affiliations of those arrested or whether they were detained for sniping at protesters. Amid the official silence, however, media speculation remained rife concerning the presence of snipers and their political affiliations.

Lebanese Forces (LF) boss Samir Geagea, who met Premier Fouad Siniora Tuesday, denied that LF members were arrested in connection with alleged sniping activities aimed at protesters in Mar Mikhael. "These rumors are false. There were members of the Lebanese Forces as well as people from Ain al-Rummaneh that the army rounded up. Some were carrying guns without a permit, but it has nothing to do with [Sunday’s riots]. No one was sniping," Geagea said following his meeting with Siniora.

Also Tuesday, the LF accused some media outlets and opposition politicians of launching a campaign aimed at "distorting facts" and laying blame for Sunday’s events on the Lebanese Forces. The LF said it has taken steps to file lawsuits against those who take part in this campaign or contribute to it.

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