3 arrested over Facebook slander of Lebanon president

Lebanon arrested on Monday three people who allegedly used the social networking website Facebook to slander President Michel Sleiman, a judicial source said.

“General prosecutor Said Mirza ordered the arrest of (more…)

Lebanon eyes offshore drilling

The administration of Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is expected to send legislation to parliament for the approval of offshore drilling, officials said.

A committee in the Lebanese parliament is expected to review the draft legislation during a Tuesday session before sending the measure onto the full legislature, Lebanon’s An-Nahar newspaper reports. (more…)

Lebanon arrests another 2 over spying for Israel

Amid growing fears a new Middle East war is brewing, Lebanese security authorities have reportedly arrested two alleged Israeli spies, both Lebanese and one of them a senior official in a state-owned telecommunications company. (more…)

Hezbollah angered over shepherd abduction

Hezbollah considers the Israeli detention of a shepherd near the Shebaa Farms region a blatant violation of Lebanese sovereignty, the resistance movement said. (more…)

Turkey restricts Israeli use of its airspace

Turkey has clamped down on Israel’s use of its airspace, according to a statement from the Turkish prime minister and information from a Turkish government official.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country’s airspace had been closed to Israeli aircraft in the wake of the Israel’s May raid on a Turkish ship that was part of a Gaza aid flotilla. (more…)

Iranian Elections and Hezbollah

By Ghassan Karam
There were many who reported last year that the Iranian theocracy used Hezbollah and Hamas imports in order to rough up the demonstrators in Tehran.

Major drug dealer arrested in a southern Beirut Suburb

Judicial police arrested a “major drug dealer” and seven addicts in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the National News Agency reported Sunday. (more…)

Tourist boats collide in Thailand, 42 injured

Forty-two people were injured after two boats carrying Thai and foreign tourists collided in the Gulf of Thailand near an island famed for its wild parties, police said Sunday. (more…)

Hariri, Berri to head to Damascus

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will visit Syria on July 5 or 6 to follow up on the joint Lebanese-Syrian administrative and technical committees that worked on several agreements, protocols, memorandum of understanding and executive programs between the two countries, Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported on Sunday. (more…)

Pope’s envoy declares beatification of Nehmeh

Pope Benedict XVI’s special envoy, Archbishop Angelo Amato, declared the beatification of Venerable Estephan Nehmeh in Kfifan in northern Lebanon on Sunday during a ceremony attended by President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, cabinet members, MPs and a large crowd, the National News Agency (NNA) reported. (more…)