Lebanon
Latest stories
Fadlallah Urges Serious Probe into Shaaban Death, Bazzi Warns against 'Creating Another Enemy'

Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah on Sunday urged a “serious and responsible probe” into the killing of al-Jadeed cameraman Ali Shaaban on Monday by gunfire from the Syrian side of the border with Lebanon’s Wadi Khaled, as AMAL Movement MP Ali Bazzi warned against “creating another enemy on our border with Syria.”

Speaking at a ceremony commemorating Shaaban one week after he and two of his al-Jadeed colleagues came under heavy gunfire from Syria while filming a report on Lebanon’s northern border with Syria, Fadlallah said: “Ali practiced the profession of problems, which led him to that troubled area where he was supposed to audio-visually transmit the facts and events from a border witnessing a lot of ambiguity.”

W140 Full Story
Audeh Hopes for End of Era of Killing and Assassinations

Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh hoped in his Easter sermon on Sunday that the era of killing and assassinations has ended with no return.

“We reject killing and assassinations and condemn them,” Audeh said at the St. George cathedral in downtown Beirut in reference to the recent murder attempt on Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

W140 Full Story
Gunmen Open Fire on Son of Slain Writer Mustafa Jeha

Unknown assailants opened fire on the car of journalist Mustafa Mustafa Jeha, who escaped unscathed in the incident that took place on the highway south of Beirut on Saturday night, the National News Agency reported.

Jeha, 26, told police that gunmen riding a black Mercedes chased him on the Damour-Jiyeh highway before opening fire on his silver-colored Mercedes near the Oceana beach resort.

W140 Full Story
Report: Hizbullah Mediated to Prevent Safadi-Miqati Dispute from Spiraling out of Control

Hizbullah has exerted strong efforts to prevent Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi from threatening the fate of the cabinet over his dispute with Premier Najib Miqati, sources close to Safadi said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday that Hizbullah has tried to appease Safadi over fears that his bickering with Miqati could spill over to the government and threaten its existence.

W140 Full Story
Hariri Rejects Proportionality in the Presence of Hizbullah’s Arms

Ex-Premier Saad Hariri slammed efforts to adopt a parliamentary elections law based on proportionality, saying the threat of Hizbullah’s arms closes the door to democratic competition.

In an interview published in al-Mustaqbal daily on Sunday, Hariri said: “Proportionality is a means for people or political movements that do not enjoy absolute majority in a certain region to be represented in parliament based on their proportional size.”

W140 Full Story
Libya Tests DNA in Search for Imam Sadr

Investigators are carrying out DNA tests on remains that could belong to Lebanese Imam Mousa al-Sadr, who mysteriously disappeared in Libya more than 33 years ago, an official at the ministry of missing persons told AFP on Saturday.

"We are testing the DNA of three separate bodies," said Esam Zregi, who heads the department for documentation and sample collections, adding that the final results would be ready in four to six weeks.

W140 Full Story
Suleiman Stresses Need for Parliament Session to Tackle $5.9 Billion Spending Bill

President Michel Suleiman stated on Saturday that the legislative authority has the responsibility to follow up on the people’s daily lives, as well as the manage government affairs.

He therefore stressed the need to hold a parliament session “as soon as possible” in order to tackle the $5.9 billion spending bill of the 2011 government.

W140 Full Story
Syrian Robbed at Gunpoint in Hay al-Sillum

A Syrian national was robbed at gunpoint Friday night in the neighborhood of Hay al-Sillum in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Abdul Kafi al-Nayef was passing through the neighborhood when five individuals in a red Range Rover forced him into their vehicle where they stole his wallet at gunpoint.

W140 Full Story
Geagea: Arms Have Never Advanced One Sect over Another in Lebanon

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Friday that weapons will not advance the position of Shiites in Lebanon.

He said: “Arms have never advanced one sect over another in Lebanon.”

W140 Full Story
Charbel Insistent on Approving Electoral Law Six Months ahead of Parliamentary Polls

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel hoped that the parliamentary electoral law will be approved ahead of the 2013 elections, reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Saturday.

He told the newspaper that he hopes that the electoral law will be approved six months ahead of the polls because logistic preparations for the elections need that much time.

W140 Full Story