Lebanon’s embattled Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday he would submit his resignation following nearly two weeks of unprecedented protests demanding political change. In a televised address, Hariri said he would submit his government’s resignation to President Michel Aoun in response to the protests, saying his administration had “reached a dead end”. “It has become necessary for… Continua a leggere
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praised the commitment of the Lebanese government to protecting its country in the face of the threat posed by Iran and Hezbollah. It came during his meeting in Washington with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. David Schenker, the assistant secretary of near eastern affairs, and David Hill,… Continua a leggere
“The Tripoli incident was a surprise to all, but the Lebanese army and security forces were on standby and were coordinated before the holidays,” said Elias Bou Saab, Lebanese Minister of National Defense The plan of the bomber was perhaps more ambitious than what happened. “The terrorist operation led by the terrorist Abdurrahman Mbassout is… Continua a leggere
Security forces opened water cannons on Lebanese anti-austerity protesters in the country’s capital on Monday, as the government continued to hold marathon meetings to discuss severe budget cuts. Lebanon faces a looming fiscal crisis as the economy struggles with soaring debt, rising unemployment and slow growth. The government’s tightened budget and key reforms aim to… Continua a leggere
Hezbollah’s control over Lebanon’s governmental institutions will turn the country into an “axis of resistance”, with Beirut’s foreign policy now being dictated by one party’s views, Sami Gemayel, the head of Lebanon’s Kataeb opposition party, told Al Arabiya in an exclusive interview. Speaking to Al Arabiya’s Reema al-Maktabi, Gemayel said that Lebanon today is “aligned… Continua a leggere
The French Interior Ministry has called on the Council of Ministers to suspend the activities of four Shiite centers close to the Iranian regime for their support of Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah’s military wing and the Islamic Jihad, as well as anti-Semitic propaganda. French President Emmanuel Macron has declared these Shiite centers to be illegal.… Continua a leggere
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on the last leg of his Middle East tour in Beirut, called on Lebanon to stand up to Iran and Hezbollah, whom he accused of “criminality, terror and threats”, reported Arab News. Pompeo met with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, all political… Continua a leggere
A senior US official warned Lebanon’s Hezbollah not to exploit its newly gained clout in the new Lebanese Cabinet and channel funds from a ministry it controls to institutions affiliated with the militant group, reported AP. The remarks by Marshall Billingslea, the US Treasury’s assistant secretary on terror financing, came as Lebanese political factions agreed… Continua a leggere
Lebanon’s finance minister has said the heavily indebted country is in a state of economic crisis and warned it faces becoming a financial crisis, as politicians struggle to form a new government, state media reported. Nearly eight months since parliamentary elections, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has been unable to bring Lebanon’s rival parties together into… Continua a leggere
Fifteen alleged members of a vast crime ring with links to Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah accused of trafficking cocaine for a Colombian drug cartel and laundering Colombian drug money through luxury jewelry and laundering the profits to buy weapons in Syria for the group and using shadowy middlemen from the Lebanese diaspora, go on trial… Continua a leggere
The Muslim Brotherhood is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. The organization gained supporters throughout the Arab world and influenced other Islamist groups such as Hamas with its “model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work”, and in 2012 sponsored the elected political… Continua a leggere
“Given the available data, there is no longer a possibility of speaking either optimistically or pessimistically about the government formation process,” Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said during a memorial ceremony in the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil on Sunday. He added, “As long as there is a certain mechanism for government… Continua a leggere
A controversial proposal by President Michel Aoun for the formation of a majority government if a national unity Cabinet cannot be formed appeared to be unraveling Sunday after it came under fire by major parliamentary blocs, political sources said. “In addition to Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s declared commitment to the formation of a national entente… Continua a leggere
By Souad Sbai The Secretary General of the World Muslim League, Mohammad Al Issa, reported on Riyadh’s willingness to solve the main problem in the Middle East conflict: the historical opposition among Sunnis and Shiites. In the Middle East, long tormented by conflicts and divisions with a strong religious component, there is no lack of… Continua a leggere
The municipality of Ghobeiry, a southern suburb of Beirut, re-named a street after Mustafa Badreddine, a Hezbollah commander believed to have masterminded al-Hariri’s assassination. The street itself leads to Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Badreddine – who was designated a terrorist by the United States – was killed in 2016 in Syria while commanding Hezbollah fighters… Continua a leggere
