Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat has mocked the failure to elect a new president by proposing to move the national dialogue from Beirut to the islands of Seychelles.
In remarks to As Safir daily published on Wednesday, Jumblat said he made the proposal to insist that “the conditions are not yet ripe for the election of a president.”
Full StoryHizbullah has reportedly requested that its lawmakers refrain from making statements to the media on the recent extension of the term of security officials, said al-Joumhouria on Saturday.
It said that head of the party's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad will announce Hizbullah's stance on Sunday.
Full StoryAl-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday accused Hizbullah of "hijacking the presidency" through its insistence on the candidacy of its ally MP Michel Aoun, as it held the party responsible for any harm against its officials in light of recent statements by Hizbullah officials.
“The bloc once again condemns Hizbullah's continued hijacking of the presidency through its insistence on a sole candidate and its attempt to paralyze the Lebanese democratic system and turn it into one of the regimes of hegemony and oppression,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
Full StoryHead of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Monday clarified remarks voiced by him that were deemed as “threats” by al-Mustaqbal movement, noting that his party would resort to the judiciary to hold Mustaqbal's officials “accountable.”
“We clearly have the right to demand accountability for those who call themselves moderates in Lebanon while they are embracing, supporting and justifying the presence of the takfiris,” said Raad.
Full StoryAl-Mustaqbal bloc described on Friday alleged threats by Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad against the movement's officials as an “aggression on civil peace,” saying they were a reflection of “terrorism” proliferating in the Middle East because of the party's main backer Iran.
Raad's threat to al-Mustaqbal Secretary General Ahmed Hariri and Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, “which is assault on civil peace, is the other face of the extremist and terrorist movements that are proliferating in the region because of the way Iran behaves and orders its followers,” the bloc said in a statement.
Full StoryChange and Reform lawmakers toured for the third day in a row parliamentary blocs to tackle Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's initiative to end the lingering presidential crisis in Lebanon.
“Aoun's initiative is an opportunity that we should cease as it's a chance to end the deadlock,” MP Emile Rahme, who is loyal to Aoun, told reporters after meeting with Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc at its headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Full StorySpeaker Nabih Berri had expressed his concern over the escalation of the Sunni-Shiite strife in the region, while emphasizing the need to safeguard the interests of Lebanese expatriates, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday.
Berri had informed the visiting Lebanese Business and Investment Council in Saudi Arabia that “he disapproves of the harsh rhetoric, by Lebanese sides, against the kingdom.”
Full StoryJustice Minister Ashraf Rifi criticized Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc chief MP Mohmmed Raad's response to Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri over the developments in Yemen and Iran's role in the region, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Friday.
He said: “Those speaking against the usurpation of the will of the Yemeni people have condemned themselves in supporting the actions of the Syrian regime, which has destroyed its cities and villages on its residents.”
Full StoryHead of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad criticized on Thursday Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri's positions on the Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen, saying that linking Iran to the developments in Yemen and Lebanon are a “major mistake.”
He said in a statement: “Only ignorants and cowards remain silent over Saudi Arabia's genocide in Yemen.”
Full StoryTalks between Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and Hizbullah officials focused on the latest security developments and the security plans being implemented by police and the military, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Friday.
The meeting took place at the defense ministry in Yarze on Thursday. The Hizbullah delegation included MP Mohammed Raad and the party's official Wafiq Safa.
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