Lebanon
Latest stories
No Cabinet this Week as Miqati Sees Positive Signs in March 14 Speeches

Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s circles said speeches made on ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s sixth assassination anniversary had some positive signs that are “consistent with Miqati’s approach.”

The circles told An Nahar daily in remarks published Tuesday that the speeches of Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri, Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and former minister Mohammed Abdul Hamid Baidoun at the BIEL rally were consistent with Miqati’s “conviction on the need for dialogue and moderation.”

W140 Full Story
Clinton Accuses Hizbullah of ‘Hijacking’ Democracy

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Hizbullah of hijacking Lebanon’s democracy and stressed that only the Lebanese state should have monopoly on military power.

“There are many ways that a democracy can be hijacked,” Clinton told al-Arabiya Arab TV network in an interview aired Monday.

W140 Full Story
U.N. Chief Reiterates Support for STL on Hariri Murder Anniversary

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated Monday his support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Lebanese people, on the sixth anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

"As Lebanon marks the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack that took the lives of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others, the Secretary-General stands with the people of Lebanon in commemorating the life and achievements of Mr. Hariri and renews his condolences to the families of the victims of this crime," the U.N. chief said.

W140 Full Story
Baidoun: Political Shiism Must Correct Its Mistakes, Lebanon Can't Have Two Armies

Former minister and AMAL Movement defector Mohammed Abdul Hamid Baidoun on Monday called on "political Shiism" in Lebanon to "correct its mistakes."

Speaking at a ceremony organized by the March 14 forces to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, Baidoun said: "We have said more than once that the Resistance (Hizbullah) considers its weapons sacred and that a majority of the Lebanese considers the (Special) Tribunal (for Lebanon) and justice sacred."

W140 Full Story
Hariri on Feb 14 Anniversary: We Won't Accept a State Ruled by Arms under Resistance Alibi

Outgoing premier Saad Hariri on Monday stressed that the March 14 coalition would not agree to the rise of a Lebanese political system ruled by the influence of weapons "under the pretext of resistance" against Israel.

"When we had agreed in the (previous) ministerial Policy Statement on the equation of the people, the army and the Resistance, it was because we believe that the State embraces everyone," Hariri said at a ceremony organized by the March 14 forces to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the assassination of his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

W140 Full Story
Gemayel: Majority Emerges from People's Freewill, Not Gun Muzzles

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday noted that the Cedar Revolution has called for freedom, sovereignty, and independence, "but today it is also striving for justice and truth."

"In the name of the martyrs of freedom and dignity, we refuse to make further concessions," Gemayel stressed during a ceremony organized by the March 14 forces to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri.

W140 Full Story
Geagea Says New Hegemony Would Lead to 'Countless Cedar Revolutions'

If the practices of the first tutelage authority had led to the Cedar Revolution, the mere signs of the emergence of another tutelage authority "will lead to countless Cedar Revolutions," Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea vowed Monday.

"They are trying once again to restore hegemony and we will confront them once more, but this time, we have learned from our mistakes and we will not fall into their trap again," Geagea added.

W140 Full Story
New Cabinet Faces Obstacles of Distribution of Portfolios: Vetoes on Both Sides and Impossible Demands

The upcoming two days are expected to witness intense efforts to tackle the distribution of portfolios and the appointment of new ministers, even though Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati still faces obstacles through “vetoes” from the March 8 and 14 political camps, as well as impossible demands by the new majority, informed political sources told the daily An Nahar Monday.

No new development has taken place in the ongoing negotiations between Miqati and the Christians in the new majority and the March 14 camp.

Full Story
Greek Police Arrest Suspected Fatah al-Islam Militant

Police in Greece have arrested a young Palestinian identified in reports as an alleged member of Fatah al-Islam, a police source said Sunday.

Ghaleb Taleb was arrested in Athens and will be deported for illegal entry into the country following questioning by police, the source told Agence France Presse.

W140 Full Story
Miqati Extends his Hand but Refuses to Make Commitments to Any Side

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati reiterated that his hand was extended to the March 14 forces to form a national unity cabinet that serves Lebanon and its citizens.

“If we want our country to be united and stable … we should join hands,” Miqati told As Safir daily in remarks published Monday.

Full Story