News Briefs
The total economic size of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, which are planning to establish a common trade and visa area, is expected to exceed 1 trillion USD in 2010.
According to the purchasing power parity (PPP) data in International Monetary Fund's (IMF) "World Economic Outlook" report for April 2010, (more...)
Lebanon's Byblos bank said on Friday its net profit for the first six months of 2010 rose 15 percent to $72.4 million compared with the same period last year. (more...)
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Saturday that he is committed to fighting any efforts that could cause conflict in Lebanon and to maintain security and national unity in the face of Israeli threats, according to a statement from his office. (more...)
Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan , a key member of Hezbollah said critics who think his party and Syria’s relationship will sour are wrong, Future News reported on Saturday.
Syrian FM Walid Mouallem reportedly assured Hezbollah MPs during a meeting yesterday that there is no change in Hezbollah- Syrian relations. (more...)
Monsoon-driven floods are reported to have killed at least 800 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the past week, officials said Saturday, as some of the one million Pakistanis affected were reported with fevers, diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses.
With more rain forecast for all but the northwest part of the country, water levels in dams and barrages across the country continued to rise alarmingly, (more...)
House Speaker Nabih Berri who has been very quiet over the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) joined Hezbollah in denouncing the court on Saturday and stressed that Israel is aiming to exploit STL in order to create internal strife in Lebanon. (more...)
Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad who represented Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at the opening of Bint Jbeil hospital, called the anticipated indictments by the special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) "unjust"
and aimed to achieve Israeli goals.
"Preparations were underway by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to issue an "unjust ruling as a way to achieve Israeli goals, " Raad said (more...)
The ruler of Qatar is taking a firsthand look at Qatari-sponsored reconstruction projects that were launched following the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel .
Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's tour of the overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim area — a stronghold of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group — is the first such trip by a visiting Arab leader. (more...)
The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al- Thani called late Friday for preserving Lebanon's sovereignty and enhancing its stability.
"Lebanon should remain sovereign, free and independent in facing all the circumstances arising from the region's developments," Sheikh Hamad said during a dinner hosted by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman in his honour at the Baabda presidential palace. (more...)
According to Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post , The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon is reportedly set to announce that Mustafa Badr al-Din, a senior Hezbollah operative and close relative of the former Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, is the main suspect in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. (more...)
Lebanese MP Okab Sakr issued a statement denying earlier reports quoting him that a major deal involving Hezbollah during Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s visits to Lebanon was reached.
Sakr stressed that the reports of a deal are unfounded. (more...)
In a statement following the historic summit in Lebanon between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and Lebanese president Michel Suleiman the leaders urged Lebanese parties to avoid resorting to violence in the face of mounting political tension in the country.
"The leaders stressed the importance of stability... (more...)
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani in Beirut Friday evening at about 7:00 pm.
At the airport he was welcomed by Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri , PM Saad Hariri.
The 3 Lebanese leaders who bid farewell to the visiting Syrian and Saudi leaders were still at the airport when the emir arrived . (more...)- Inmates set fire to a cell at the juvenile wing of the high security Roumieh prison following a quarrel Friday that left several of them wounded. Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (Leopards Commando Unit) intervened to end the quarrel and called in the firefighters to extinguish the fire.
Saudi Arabia’s king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz and Syria’s president Bashar al- Assad arrived in Beirut aboard the same plane at about 2 pm Beirut time Friday , for talks with Lebanese officials aimed at defusing tension. (more...)
According to media reports , a meeting took place between Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri and Hezbollah leader's political assistant Hussein Khalil on Tuesday .
The meeting reportedly started with a tense argument after Hariri criticized what he called a campaign by Hezbollah against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) according to al-Hayat newspaper. (more...)
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud who arrived in Syria on Thursday held talks with President Bashar al-Assad at the People's Palace following an official welcoming ceremony in his honor.
His visit comes on the eve of a joint mission to Lebanon aimed at reducing the political tensions in the country. (more...)
Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri called on Tuesday during a conference at the Grand Serail on improving management and fighting corruption on relevant parliamentary commissions to quickly approve law proposals on the issue. (more...)
March 14 MP Nouhad al-Mashnouq said Thursday : "The tribunal is an international authority … and all assumptions and accusations against it are exaggerations that have no legal or constitutional basis."
He said the Lebanese-Saudi-Syrian summit is a "major Arab guarantee for Lebanon's stability." (more...)
U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams said Thursday after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon "may affect Lebanon's stability."
He pointed out however that there are other factors that may also target the country's stability, such as the tensions with Israel, adding: "We are trying to calm the situation and deal with the facts." (more...)
Feature Articles
After a century of tragedies in the M.E, it is distressing to see how many dangerous illusions still shape the behavior of so many of the region’s principal players
There is a lot speculation in Lebanon on whether a deal was reached during Friday’s summit over the issue of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The historic summit between the leaders of Lebanon , Syria and Saudi Arabia was concluded four hours after the arrival of the visiting leaders.
Afghanistan Al Qaeda Aoun Assad Berri Christians Dubai Economy Egypt Elections ET409 Ethiopia Ethiopian Airlines France Gaza Geagea Ghassan Karam Hamas Hariri Hezbollah Iran Iraq Israel Jumblatt Lebanon Libya Municipal elections Nuclear Obama Pakistan Palestinians Russia Saudi Arabia Shiites STL Suleiman Syria Terrorism Tribunal Turkey U.S. UN UNIFIL US Yemen
When it comes to tolerating free speech and outspoken media, Lebanon’s track record is often quite better than many other countries in the region
Can Israel afford to continue to occupy Palestinian territory? “Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories is damaging the economy of the Jewish state,”
By Ghassan Karam
Mahmud Ahmadinejad the Iranian President is a chauvinist, a traditional ecologically ignorant chauvinist. This post is not about traditional politics, and is not concerned with either the role of the Pasadran,
Increasingly, despite its early military and political successes, Israel cannot for long endure as a colonial project.
The future of Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful Shia political and paramilitary organization, has never looked more uncertain.
By Ghassan Karam
In a democracy very few things, if any, justify sedition. Disagreements and dissatisfaction with policies can be opposed vigorously and dealt with through the ballot box during the next electoral cycle
By Ghassan Karam
“The Sayed doth protest too much, methinks” ; with apologies to Shakespeare; is possibly the most appropriate way of describing part one of Hezbollah’s two act play to explain
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu appeared optimistic after a series of surprise talks with Iraqi leaders and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus,
By Ghassan Karam
“Lebanon will not dodge these duties, which must be crystal-clear, and not be subject to any misinterpretation” said Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri when commenting about the most recent efforts to recognize the civil rights
On July 7, CNN fired its senior editor of Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr, after she published a Twitter message praising Sayyed Fadlallah
By Ghassan Karam
We are often told that one major consequence of industrialization and modernity is the resulting climate change and its deleterious effects
Hezbollah chief sounded yesterday during his speech ,just like he sounded 2 years ago during the May 2008 events.
THE fate of the Arab world’s two most important states lies in the hands of aging autocrats.
By Ghassan Karam
Energy is best defined as the “capacity to do work”; there cannot be life without it. That is simply what is meant by saying that life on planet earth
By Ghassan Karam
One of the better ways to understand a society is to look at the way it treats its poor. Unfortunately the practically universal adoption of capitalis
NEUTRALITY is a contentious issue in journalism, but honesty is the real measure.
In his new book, Reza Kahlili , the Iranian CIA spy offers a first-hand account of how the Islamic regime has oppressed its people for three decades.
By: Robert Fisk
Poor old CNN goes on getting more cowardly by the hour. That’s why no one cares about it any more.
It is no secret that the Arab countries of the Middle East fear a nuclear Iran as much as any country in the world and perhaps more.
CNN yesterday ended the 20-year career of its Senior Middle East News Editor, Lebanese-American Octavia Nasr, because of a tweet she wrote
Soaring economic growth, relative calm on its southern border and a truce between rival politicians is translating into a Lebanon tourist boom
CNN caves in to the Israeli Lobby and fires the eminent Lebanese-American journalist Octavia Nasr; First Helen Thomas, now Octavia Nasr; oh, what has happened to the self-styled, American free press?
By Ghassan Karam
The USGS has declared the large potential of the Levant field in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea but the Lebanese authorities have failed so far to
The White house surrendered yesterday ….Netanyahu celebrated victory following his meeting with Obama….
Octavia Nasr, a CNN editor explains in this article why tweets should not be used to comment on controversial or sensitive issues
Thousands of mourners gathered in south Beirut on Tuesday for the funeral of Lebanon’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.
The death of Grand Ayatollah Fadlallah, resonated almost as much in the West as it did in the Arab and Islamic worlds – but for entirely different reasons.
By Ghassan Karam
Whenever the advocates of a particular circumstance feel the need to justify that outcome and to argue for its continuation by resorting to variations of the phrases “but this time it’s different”
IRAN has once again admitted its inability to face the international blockade imposed on it and has opted to put knives on the necks of the people in South Lebanon.
Lebanon’s Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shiite Islam’s main religious figures died Sunday after a long illness.
This week, skeptics and opponents of US-Syrian engagement got a new round of ammunition when the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has supplied Syria with an advanced radar system.
In a country where a third of the population survives on less than 4 dollars a day, it is hard to believe there is such a thriving market for luxury items.
Ten days ago I left California to join other U.S. citizens on the Lebanese Boat Brigade—the first such effort to penetrate Israel’s blockade of Gaza
Pssssst. I’ve got a stock tip. Ready? The Al-Quds Index. What’s that? It’s the P.S.E., or Palestine Securities Exchange
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