President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday the need for calming the political rhetoric in Lebanon and returning to dialogue.
He said: “Internal affairs can only be settled through dialogue, cooperation, and national consensus.”
Full StoryThe daily An Nahar reported on Saturday that the latest government structure that was agreed upon called for granting Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun ten ministers, President Michel Suleiman and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat eleven, and the rest of the March 8 camp nine ministers.
The Interior Ministry portfolio would be granted to a figure agreed upon by all sides and who is not affiliated with any of the political powers.
Full StoryNegotiations on the formation of the new cabinet haven’t yet reached the stage of distribution of portfolios amid reports that Premier-designate Najib Miqati is suggesting that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun get 10 ministers.
“Negotiations haven’t yet overcome the obstacle of distribution of shares,” An Nahar daily quoted sources as saying in remarks published Friday.
Full StoryPresident Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that the prison file will be a priority for the new government where it will implement “radical solutions to its chronic problems.”
He made his statements during a meeting with caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, and acting gendarmerie chief Salah Jebran on the prison file.
Full StoryA final agreement on the cabinet lineup awaits a meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a March 8 source said despite reports that Aoun continued to hold onto his demand for 11 cabinet ministers, including the interior ministry portfolio.
“The meeting between Sayyed Nasrallah and General Aoun hopefully will pave the way for the formation of a government,” the source told The Daily Star in remarks published Wednesday.
Full StoryThe first Middle East Airlines plane carrying Lebanese who have escaped the violence in Ivory Coast arrived at Beirut airport on Wednesday.
The National News Agency said around 136 Abidjan residents flew to Beirut from Ghana. They were transported by French authorities from the Ivory Coast to Mali and then to Ghana, it said.
Full StoryThe Higher Defense Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday in the Baabda Palace to address the situation of Lebanese expatriates in the Ivory Coast.
The meeting, headed by President Michel Suleiman, stressed the need to place a plan to help the expatriates in the African country and provide the best means to evacuate those seeking to leave through the cooperation of the Lebanese Embassy, United Nations, and Ivory Coast authorities.
Full StoryThe Higher Defense Council is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting at Baabda palace under President Michel Suleiman at 1:30 pm Tuesday to discuss ways at finding a safe exit for Lebanese expatriates in violence-torn Ivory Coast.
The meeting is rare since it comes at a time of a political vacuum and in the absence of a Lebanese government.
Full StoryLebanon’s ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam will ask Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to deploy more U.N. troops in cities in the Ivory Coast where most Lebanese are concentrated and help them overcome the difficult conditions in the violence-torn country.
Salam told Speaker Nabih Berri during a telephone conversation that he would meet with Ban on Monday.
Full StoryRelatives of Lebanese expatriates stranded in civil war-torn Ivory Coast staged a sit-in Sunday in front of Lebanon's foreign ministry in Beirut, demanding a solution to the humanitarian crisis.
A number of expats who had managed to return to Lebanon also took part in the sit-in.
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