Lebanon

Bkerke Mediating an End to Catholic Schools' Strike
Bkerke Mediating an End to Catholic Schools' Strike

Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai said he was "satisfied" with the results of the meeting he chaired in Bkerke on Wednesday to discuss the laws on teachers' rights passed by Parliament on December 15. The two laws amend certain regulations governing educational authority in private schools and the management of school budgets. The controversial ...

Isaac Arazi, Head of Lebanon's Jewish Community, Dies
Isaac Arazi, Head of Lebanon's Jewish Community, Dies

The former president of Lebanon's Jewish community has died on Tuesday. Jews have been living in Lebanon for 2,000 years, but their numbers shrank from some 22,000 before the 1975-1990 civil war to around 30 today, according to Hout. Contacted by This is Beirut, the late Mr. Arazi's sister stressed that "he took the initiative to rebuild the ...

Karam's Memorandum to Guterres on 'Lebanese Apprehensions'
Karam's Memorandum to Guterres on 'Lebanese Apprehensions'

The President of the Maronite League and former ambassador Khalil Karam presented a memorandum on "Lebanese apprehensions" to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Karam called on the UN, through its agencies, to find a solution to the problem of displaced Syrians, and to work for the full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, with ...

Tributes to Mohammed Chatah on 10th Anniversary of His Assassination
Tributes to Mohammed Chatah on 10th Anniversary of His Assassination

On the tenth anniversary of Mohammad Chatah's assassination in a car bomb attack in downtown Beirut, several prominent figures paid tribute in memory of a leading figure of the anti-Hezbollah sovereign circle and the ‘Cedar Revolution’ against Syrian military and political hegemony over Lebanon. Former Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, said ...

Bishops el-Hage and Semaan Accused of 'Communicating' With Israel
Bishops el-Hage and Semaan Accused of 'Communicating' With Israel

The committee of former Lebanese Prisoners in Israel filed an information notice on Tuesday against the Patriarchal Maronite Vicar of Haifa and Jerusalem, Archbishop Moussa el-Hage, and the Patriarchal Vicar of the Syriac Catholic Church for the Holy Land, Archbishop Camille Semaan, for "communicating with the Israeli army." The two Lebanese ...

Mikati Signs 11 of 14 Laws Passed in Parliament
Mikati Signs 11 of 14 Laws Passed in Parliament

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has taken action on a series of legislative measures following parliamentary approval and Cabinet decisions. The General Directorate of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers disclosed that, out of the fourteen laws passed during the Parliament's session on the 14th and 15th of this month, eleven have been ...

Nasr Calls for the Amendment of Laws on Private Schools
Nasr Calls for the Amendment of Laws on Private Schools

Following a coordination meeting held on Tuesday by Christian schools at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Beirut, the Secretary General of Catholic schools, Father Youssef Nasr, spoke to This is Beirut on the matter. A coordination meeting between representatives of Catholic, Evangelical and Orthodox schools was held on Tuesday afternoon at the ...

The Port of Tripoli Acquires Cranes to Develop Its Activity
The Port of Tripoli Acquires Cranes to Develop Its Activity

The caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamiye, visited the port of Tripoli on Tuesday where a Chinese vessel, Hue Zing Long, loaded with huge container handling cranes, arrived on Monday. Speaking to the press, he explained that the cranes were the responsibility of CMR, as part of the contract it had previously signed with the ...

Four Prisons Will Be Deprived of Food Supplies
Four Prisons Will Be Deprived of Food Supplies

Starting next year, Roumieh prison and the women's prisons in Baabda, Zahlé and Tripoli will be deprived of food. The six companies delivering food to these prisons have announced that they will suspend their services from December 31. The reason: a lack of funds and unpaid bills. In a memo sent to the General Directorate of the Internal ...

Michel Aoun at FPM Meeting Calls for 'Closing Ranks'
Michel Aoun at FPM Meeting Calls for 'Closing Ranks'

The weekly meeting of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), headed by its leader Gebran Bassil, was marked by the presence of his father-in-law, former President of the Republic Michel Aoun. According to information obtained by This is Beirut, this participation comes in the wake of "unjustified" absences of several FPM members from party meetings ...

Teymour Joumblatt Visits Frangieh
Teymour Joumblatt Visits Frangieh

As part of his policy of openness to different political factions, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) MP Teymour Joumblatt paid a visit to the head of the Marada movement, Sleiman Frangieh, at his residence in Bnechai on Tuesday morning. Joumblatt was accompanied by a PSP delegation comprising MPs Akram Chehayeb and Wael Abou Faour, ...