Assad proving to be an embarrassment for Obama

Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad is proving to be an embarrassment for the Obama administration.

Gemayel: Aoun’s demands for Beirut Municipal council unacceptable

Phalange party MP Nadim Gemayel told Voice of Lebanon on Monday that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is using Hezbollah to pressure Prime Minister Saad Hariri into accepting the former’s proposal – which is to grant the FPM 40 percent of the Christian seats in the Beirut municipal council during the May municipal elections.

“This is simply unacceptable,” said Gemayel, adding that the FPM will not be granted more than two seats in the council. (more…)

U.K. Ambassador Survives Suicide Attack in Yemen

The U.K. ambassador to Yemen escaped a suicide attack on his motorcade today in the capital, Sana’a, four months after the Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda tried to blow up a U.S. airliner. (more…)

Sfeir will be back Monday afternoon

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, and his accompanying delegation will be returning to Beirut this afternoon ( about 4:00 pm) on the private jet of former deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares. Sfeir was on a 4 day official visit Rome to participate in preparations for the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East that will be held in October 2010.

Ad Dyar: Beirut may witness a tough Municipal election battle

Ad Dyar newspaper has reported that Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun is insisting on 5 members in the Beirut Municipality for the FPM and 2 members for the ( Armenian) Tashnag party . (more…)

Zahra: Baathists don’t believe in Lebanon’s independence

MP Antoine Zahra focused in his speech during a ceremony that marked the 5th anniversary of the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon on the Lebanese-Syrian relations. He stressed that the Baathist doctrine does not believe in the independence of Lebanon. He added that the convergence of Muslims and Christians on March 14 led to a second independence. (more…)

Israel lifts ban on IPad Imports

Israel lifted a ban on imports of Apple’s iPad on Sunday, saying the device conforms with local wireless standards, the government said.

Israel reportedly banned the iPad earlier this month because the device did not meet European Wi-Fi standards, although one Israeli legislator said the ban stemmed from concerns the device would interfere with wireless frequencies used by the military. While Israel blocked people from importing iPads, imports of the device were not banned by European countries.

On Sunday, Israel’s Ministry of Communications said “intensive technical scrutiny” showed the iPad conformed with wireless standards after all. (more…)

Hungary’s center-right Fidesz wins 2/3 majority

The main Hungarian center-right party – the Fidesz Hungarian Civic Alliance – has declared victory in the country’s parliamentary elections. Fidesz defeated the ruling Socialists by winning a super majority of seats.

Thousands of Hungarians, many of them waving flags, sang their national anthem in downtown Budapest where 46-year Viktor Orban, the likely new prime minster, declared victory.

He told the crowd that his center right Fidesz made history as the first Hungarian political party to capture a two-thirds majority in the 386-seat parliament since Hungary’s first post-communist elections in 1990. (more…)

World Bank increases voting power of developing countries in IBRD

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ended their Spring Meetings in Washington, DC on Sunday, with the endorsement of an increase of developing countries’ voting power in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) by 3.13 percentage points to 47.19 percent. (more…)

Lebanon: A lesson in history

A lesson in history reveals how the absence of a common history textbook in Lebanese schools highlights the lack of consensus between Lebanon’s religious communities over interpreting their past