A group of eight international and local groups urged Lebanese authorities on Wednesday to cease the harassment of human rights activist Saadeddine Shatila for his work documenting torture by security forces.
Shatila, who is a member of the international human rights group Alkarama, was summoned by Lebanon’s military intelligence to their headquarters in Beirut at 8 a.m. on July 25, said a statement released by the organizations, including Alkarama, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Full Story
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized on Thursday Lebanon’s decision to disassociate itself from the United Nations Security Council statement condemning the violence against protests in Syria.
He told Voice of Lebanon radio: “Something must be wrong in Lebanon when 14 out of 15 countries voted in favor of the statement, especially when these countries included Russia, Brazil China, and others of different ideologies.”
Full Story
Parliament approved on Thursday a draft law on the delineation of Lebanon’s maritime border after introducing an amendment to article 6, two days after the cabinet’s adoption of the decree.
The adoption of the law comes amid a dispute between Lebanon and Israel over their maritime boundary. Both countries are moving to assert sovereignty over an area potentially rich in gas.
Full Story
President Michel Suleiman moved to his summer residence in Beiteddine for three weeks, while his consultations with top officials over the dialogue are ongoing, including talks with Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.
Wissam Baroudi, the president’s son-in-law, told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the president used his constitutional right concerning the formation of the cabinet.
Full Story
Turkish authorities have seized an Iranian arms shipment heading to Syria and was meant for Hizbullah, a German newspaper reported Thursday.
The Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Turkish security forces stopped a convoy of trucks carrying a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in the south-central city of Kilis, which is adjacent to the Syrian border.
Full Story
Hundreds of Islamists held a protest in the northern port city of Tripoli after the Tarawih prayers on Wednesday night to condemn Syria’s deadly crackdown on protestors calling for reform.
Islamist and Salafist groups, in addition to al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah and Hizb ut-Tahrir held the demonstration in Tripoli’s Abi Samra neighborhood in support of the Syrian people.
Lebanon’s disavowal of a U.N. Security Council statement condemning Syria's deadly attacks on civilians is “shameful,” high-ranking March 14 sources said.
The sources told An Nahar daily published Thursday that “despite the unanimity of the other 14 members of the Security Council on the statement, Lebanon’s disavowal is a shameful and disgraceful stance.”
Full Story
Lebanon "disassociated" itself Wednesday from a U.N. Security Council statement condemning Syria's crackdown on opposition protests.
Lebanon’s envoy told a council meeting that the statement would not "help" end the Syrian crisis.
Full Story
The office of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is currently examining material hand-delivered by Hizbullah officials to Lebanon’s State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza on July 13, 2011, Bellemare’s office said in a statement Wednesday.
Hizbullah, for its part, issued a statement later on Wednesday in which it confirmed the delivery of the material to Mirza but noted that that happened at the state prosecutor’s “personal request.”
Full Story
Parliament approved on Wednesday 25 draft laws and agreements out of 67 items during its first meeting since the new government received the vote of confidence.
The delineation of Lebanon’s maritime border was absent from the session, but a draft law on the matter was distributed among the MPs.
Full Story


