Lebanon
Latest stories
Saniora, Gemayel Discuss Electoral Law, Need to Hold Elections on Time

The head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora held talks on the parliamentary elections with Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel, reported the National News Agency on Tuesday.

It said that the two officials addressed electoral law discussions and the need to hold the elections, scheduled for June, on time.

W140 Full Story
Shuqair Calls for Talks Between SCC and Economic Committees

Director of the Chamber of Commerce for Mount Lebanon and Beirut Mohammed Shuqair called for round table talks between the Syndicate Coordination Committee and the Economic Committees to study the problematic wage scale issue in light of the escalatory measures taken by the SCC, As Safir daily said Tuesday.

“I call upon the SCC to hold talks with the Economic Committees and form a joint commission to study the wage scale from various aspects,” Shuqair told the daily.

W140 Full Story
Report: Premier Rejects Signing Orthodox Draft-Law if Approved by Parliament

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is holding onto his stance from the so-called Orthodox Gathering electoral draft-law, reiterating his rejection to the adoption of the proposal, media reports said on Tuesday.

Sources close to the premier pointed out in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper that he informed officials that he will not attend any parliamentary session set to vote on the Orthodox proposal.

W140 Full Story
Report: Suleiman, Miqati Suggest Electoral Law that Combines Berri, Mustaqbal Proposals

Envoys of President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati are expected to present to various political factions a new version of the hybrid electoral draft law, reported the daily An Nahar Tuesday.

It said that Suleiman's envoy, former Minister Khalil al-Hrawi, and Miqati's envoy, Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas, are set to hold discussions with the factions on a law that sees the election of 68 MPs based on the winner-takes-all system and 60 based on the proportional representation system.

W140 Full Story
Berri Defends his Electoral Law Proposal because of its 'Unknown Outcomes'

Speaker Nabih Berri defended his parliamentary electoral law proposal, saying he is willing to assume the responsibility of its consequences, reported As Safir newspaper Tuesday.

He told the daily: “I proposed the hybrid draft law, the outcomes of which are unknown and based on constructive vagueness.”

W140 Full Story
Jumblat Accepts Government Electoral Law, Says Discussing it with Saniora

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat adopted on Tuesday the electoral draft-law proposed by the government as he revealed that his party is carrying out negotiations with al-Mustaqbal Movement to reach common ground over the matter.

“We are carrying out discussions based on the electoral draft-law proposed by the cabinet and we might reach an agreement between the March 8 and 14 coalitions over the matter after modifying it,” Jumblat said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

W140 Full Story
Al-Rahi Says Talks in Moscow Will Discuss 'Regional Peace': Officials Must Step Down if 1960 Law Adopted

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged Lebanese politicians on Tuesday to resign if the 1960's electoral law was adopted in the upcoming elections, pointing out that the talks he will hold with Russian officials during his trip to Moscow will discuss peace in the Middle East.

“We salute Russia's calls for drawing an end to wars in Lebanon, Syria and the region,” al-Rahi said upon his arrival to Moscow.

W140 Full Story
Car Blast Wounds Pro-Hizbullah Yaroun Municipal Chief in Tyre

Hasan Awada, the municipal chief of the southern town of Yaroun, was wounded on Monday when a blast ripped through his car as he was driving it in the Tyre area of al-Housh, state-run National News Agency reported.

Security forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched an investigation into the incident, NNA said.

W140 Full Story
Abdallah Declares Hunger Strike in Solidarity with Palestinian Detainees

Lebanese leftist militant Georges Abdallah, who has been jailed for nearly three decades in France, on Monday declared a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, the Lebanon-based, pan-Arab television al-Mayadeen reported on Monday.

More than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners staged a one-day hunger strike on Sunday to protest the death of Palestinian inmate Arafat Jaradat.

W140 Full Story
Miqati Restates Commitment to Disassociation Policy, Says Aid Sent to Syria Purchased in Lebanon

Prime Minister Najib Miqati revealed that all aid being sent to Syria is purchased in Lebanese markets, stressing again on the cabinet's policy of disassociation towards the neighboring country's events.

"Lebanon's economy has certainly been negatively affected by Syria's conflict particularly in the fields of tourism and transportation,” Miqati told CNN in an interview that aired on Monday according to the PM's office.

W140 Full Story