Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun deemed as “illegal” the military offensive led by Saudi Arabia against Yemen's Huthi rebels, reported As Safir newspaper on Wednesday.
The charters of the United Nations and Arab League prohibit the foreign intervention of one country in the affairs of the other, he remarked during Tuesday's weekly Change and Reform bloc meeting.
Full StoryProgressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Wednesday Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's latest speech, describing it as “tense and biased.”
“I noticed that the Islamic Republic of Iran didn't comment (on the developments in Yemen) like Nasrallah did,” Jumblat said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.
Full StorySocial Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said on Wednesday that Lebanon's share from the Third International Pledging Conference for Syria held in Kuwait the day before hasn't been decided yet.
He pointed out that the U.N. refugees agency will decide later the country's share from the $3.8 billion pledges made by international donors to help alleviate war-torn Syria's humanitarian crisis.
Full StoryAl-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday threw its weight behind Prime Minister Tammam Salam, after his remarks on Yemen at the Sharm el-Sheikh Arab Summit drew criticism from Hizbullah.
“The bloc lauds the balanced stance that was voiced at the Arab Summit by PM Tammam Salam and stresses that Lebanon cannot breach Arab consensus or endorse unilateral policies,” it said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
Full StoryThe Change and Reform bloc demanded on Tuesday that the government carry out the security and military appointments, calling on it to end “the flawed situation” in the country.
Former Minister Salim Jreissati said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “The cabinet should carry out the appointments seeing as it is not acting in a caretaking capacity.”
Full StoryThe Syndicate Coordination Committee staged a rally on Tuesday near the Ministry of Education in Beirut's UNESCO area over the ongoing procrastination by officials to resolve the wage hike dispute.
“We have been protesting over the years and we are convinced that our demands are righteous but politicians only aimed at undermining our endeavors,” the SCC said.
Full StoryA delegation from the families of the servicemen abducted by extremists from the northeastern border town of Arsal announced on Tuesday that they will no longer carry out escalatory measures following a meeting with General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim.
They declared: “An exchange with the captors is ready.”
Full StoryHizbullah lashed out on Tuesday at critics who slammed the speech of it party leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, describing their remarks as “worthless.”
“For the past three days we read and heard the reactions to Nasrallah's speech, which were far from the reality he conveyed and failed to counter his argument” Hizbullah's media officer Mohammad Afif said in a statement.
Full StoryPrime Minister Tammam Salam asked donors on Tuesday for humanitarian assistance to help the Lebanese authorities implement a plan to overcome the Syrian refugee crisis.
“The crisis should be managed through a more than $1 billion plan set up by the Lebanese government,” Salam said at an international conference for donors held in Kuwait.
Full StoryPrime Minister Tammam Salam stressed on Tuesday that Lebanon's stance at the Arab summit comes in harmony with the ministerial policy statement, threatening to suspend cabinet sessions if any party raised the matter at the upcoming meeting.
“Our stance falls in Lebanon's favor,” Salam's visitors quoted him as saying in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.
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