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Inside the Middle East
January 13, 2011
Posted: 920 GMT

From the Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star.

Lebanon was plunged deeper into political turmoil Wednesday with the collapse of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s national unity Cabinet after 10 ministers from the March 8 coalition and a minister loyal to President Michel Sleiman resigned over the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

PHOTO: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images. Lebanese caretaker PM Saad Hariri meets US President Barack Obama in the White House Wednesday.
PHOTO: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images. Lebanese caretaker PM Saad Hariri meets US President Barack Obama in the White House Wednesday.

Regional and world leaders expressed deep concerns over the dramatic developments, with the United States and Britain blaming Hizbullah for attempting “to subvert justice” and undermine Lebanon’s stability and security.

Energy Minister Jibran Bassil, reading the statement of the 10 ministers’ resignations at a news conference, called on Sleiman to quickly launch parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

Later, Minister of State Adnan Sayyed Hussein, close to Sleiman, said in a statement he was stepping down after “political differences” had threatened unity among Cabinet members.

Under the Constitution, the resignation of one-third plus one of Cabinet members automatically leads to the collapse of the 30-member government.

The resignations came as Hariri was meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington to discuss the Lebanese crisis over the S.T.L., which is probing the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hariri did not speak to reporters after the talks with Obama and left the U.S. for France, where he is expected to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday.

A White House statement said Obama and Hariri vowed to pursue stability and justice in Lebanon. It said the actions by Hizbullah “only demonstrate their own fear and determination to block the government’s ability to conduct its business and advance the aspirations of all of the Lebanese people.” Read full article in the Daily Star...

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December 7, 2010
Posted: 1116 GMT

A series of U.S. diplomatic cables from early this year directly accused Syria of supplying advanced weaponry, including SCUD ballistic missiles, to the Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon.

U.S. protests to Damascus met with persistent denials, according to the cables, which were published by the WikiLeaks website.
At a meeting in February, according to one cable, a senior U.S. diplomat stressed Washington's concerns directly with Syrian President Bashar Asad, "who bluntly stated that he knew of no new weapons systems going to Hezbollah."

But just a week later, an urgent note from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus said the United States had learned of Syrian plans to supply Hezbollah with SCUD-D ballistic missiles, which would magnify its threat to Israel.

Clinton wrote: "I must stress that this activity is of deep concern to my government, and we strongly caution you (Syria) against such a serious escalation." To reinforce the point, the cable continues: "Your interest in avoiding war should require you to exert maximum restraint, including restraining Hezbollah and preventing the group's acquisition of such lethal, long-range weapons." Read more...

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Filed under: Clinton •Hezbollah •Syria •U.S.


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November 28, 2010
Posted: 641 GMT
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, left, shakes hands with Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, left, shakes hands with Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi.

(CNN) - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of a two-day visit to the country aimed at expanding relations, Iranian state media reported.

It is Hariri's first visit to Iran as prime minister, state-run Press TV said, and the visit comes a month after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Lebanon on his first state visit to the country.

"We consider this visit to be very important and hope for further expansion of ties between Iran and Lebanon," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.

During the trip, Hariri is expected to meet with Ahmadinejad, Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahibi, National Security Chairman Saeed Jalili and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Fars reported.

"Lebanon considers cooperation with Iran necessary for creating a common ground to fight the dangers that threaten the two countries and even the region," Press TV quoted Hariri as saying before departing Beirut for the Iranian capital, Tehran.

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November 22, 2010
Posted: 1139 GMT
A lebanese surgeon performing a plastic surgery.
A lebanese surgeon performing a plastic surgery.

While the search for inner beauty is this month drawing Muslims to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage, a different kind of search - this time for beauty of a more obvious kind - is drawing many from the Middle East to another location.
The traditional Eid holiday that marks the start of the Hajj is used by many in the region as an opportunity to travel abroad for plastic surgery. Their destination is usually Lebanon, a country whose obsession with physical perfection has transformed it into a very different kind of Mecca.
"We are very busy at this time of year - we work like restaurants, when everyone is on vacation, we're working," Roger El Khoury, head surgeon at the Beirut Beauty Clinic, told CNN. Read more..

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Filed under: Lebanon •Women


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November 9, 2010
Posted: 1523 GMT
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses a mass rally in the southern Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil (Getty Images)
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses a mass rally in the southern Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil (Getty Images)

Fresh off the success of his controversial visit to Lebanon, it appears that Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will now be weighing whether or not to make another diplomatic visit – this time to the Gaza Strip.

According to semi-official Iranian news agency Fars,  the Hamas government in Gaza has extended an official invitation to the Iranian leader to visit the coastal strip in order to "boost resistance moral" of the territories 1.5 million Palestinian residents.

Hamas official Ahmed Yousef told Fars  “We invite (President) Ahmadinejad to pay a visit to the Gaza Strip, and we are confident that the visit will have extraordinary importance”

Yousef  told Fars he hoped that a trip by the Iranian leader would inspire Gazans in the same way it did for Lebanese.

Lacking the same enthusiasm would be Israel which has long accused the Iranian regime of providing weapons and cash to Hamas which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

"Perhaps he could be smuggled in through the tunnels with weapons" deadpanned Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor who said he did not expect an Ahmadinejad visit to take place, despite the invitation.

Israel and Egypt control the land, sea and air approaches to the territory and it would be unlikely that the Egyptian government of Hosni Mubarak , which has not enjoyed the friendliest of relations with Iran, would allow such a visit.

For his part Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who represents a rival Palestinian political faction,  will not be supporting a visit either.  He recently told CNN that both Iran and Hamas were impeding the peace talks with Israel.

"Hamas and whoever is standing behind Hamas – meaning Iran – is slowing the peace process. Yes, yes, Iran is pressuring Hamas not to be part of any agreement, so that they can use Hamas as a negotiations card in their talks with the international community and especially with the United States."

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Filed under: Gaza •Hamas •Hezbollah •Iran •Lebanon •Palestinians •West Bank


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October 13, 2010
Posted: 1545 GMT

I heard them before I saw them.  Canaries happily warbling outside of Hezbollah’s press registration office in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahieh.

Now, security is tight as always given that this militant Shia political party is considered a terrorist organization by the US and Lebanon’s neighbor Israel.  We fully expected a thorough search, since Iranian president Ahmadinejad is about to give a speech to his supporters in Lebanon’s capital, and Hezbollah believes that there is a constant threat of an attack.

The birds, however, quite unexpected.

“Are they here to detect poisonous gas?” I ask our producer Jomana.

“No it can’t be.” She says.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Filed under: Hezbollah •Lebanon


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Posted: 1046 GMT

From Arwa Damon, CNN

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Beirut for his first state visit to Lebanon Wednesday.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad crosses Beirut airport highway on his first visit to the country on Wednesday
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad crosses Beirut airport highway on his first visit to the country on Wednesday

Ahmadinejad was greeted at the airport by members of parliament, government officials and Hezbollah political leaders. The streets near the airport were packed with people in a festive mood carrying Iranian and Lebanese flags.

The Iranian leader met Lebanese President Michel Suleiman at the Presidential Palace here and was scheduled to meet other leaders as well as leaders of Hezbollah's resistance movement.

The United States considers Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran and Syria, to be a terrorist organization. The Shiite group is a political party and a major provider of social services in Lebanon, but it also operates a militant wing.

Hezbollah has been linked to numerous terrorist attacks against American, Israeli and other Western targets. Some Muslims see it as a heroic organization, successful in its stated objective of driving Israeli forces from Lebanon.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concern to Suleiman about Ahmadinejad's Lebanon visit, according to a State Department spokesman.

But in southern Lebanon many were happy that Ahmadinejad was coming. Read full article...

 

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August 20, 2010
Posted: 2012 GMT

CNN's Cal Perry reports on the Lebanese government's version of events the day of the deadly border clash between Lebanon's armed forces and the Israeli military earlier this month. The government says 10 soldiers were dispatched to the border area when word was received that the Israeli military was doing some sort of work in the area. Their mission – "to protect its sovereign borders from any Israeli infringement." Read the rest of the story here.

Filed under: General •Israel •Lebanon


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August 19, 2010
Posted: 2131 GMT

Our Beirut producer Nada Husseini reports that activists in Lebanon are planning the launch of another Gaza bound flotilla. Speaking with media Thursday from the coastal city of Tripoli, flotilla organizer Samar al Hajj said dozens of female activists from Europe, Egypt, Bahrain and India, will set sail carrying cancer medication for women and children in addition to diapers, books, and toys. The activists are planning on departing Lebanon Sunday on the Safinat Mariam, a boat named after the Virgin Mary. 

 Expected to join the Mariam is another vessel sponsored by the Free Gaza Movement and a group called Journalists without Borders. Al Hajj said the ships would make their way on a ten-hour journey to Larnaca in Cyrpus first where they hope to proceed to Gaza. Al Sajj said they have permission from the Lebanese authorities to travel to Cyprus, but have not received authorization from Cypriot officials to sail on to Gaza. 

Activist organized flotillas to break through Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip have presented a major challenge to the Jewish state. In May activists attempting to run the blockade were stopped by Israeli commandos as part of the government’s stated attempt to thwart weapons smuggling to Gaza militants intent on attacking the Jewish state. Commandos who boarded one of the ships, a Turkish-flagged vessel called the Mavi Marmara, fought with activists. The confrontation left one Turkish-American and eight Turkish activists dead, and sparked an international outcry.

And in other flotilla related news the Israeli military acknowledged today that it is investigating claims that some of its soldiers stole personal belongings of activists participating in the controversial Gaza aid flotilla in May.

Filed under: Gaza •General •Israel •Lebanon


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August 18, 2010
Posted: 2003 GMT

The Lebanese Parliament’s passage of legislation amending its labor and social security rules for over 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in the country has been met with varying reactions in the region. The new legislation which is expected to be signed into law within the next month makes it easier for Palestinian refugees to work legally in Lebanon and opens up jobs previously closed to them.

In a statement released Wednesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the organization charged with administering to Palestinian refugees, called the move a “an important step in the right direction” and in a letter to his Lebanese counterpart Palestinian Authority Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani applauded the move but called on the Lebanese to do more to improve the quality of life for Palestinian refugees during their “temporary” stay in Lebanon.

An editorial in Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper also welcomed the decision and played down fears it was the first step towards naturalizing Palestinian refugees, a move many fear would upset the delicate religious balance in Lebanon’s government. But some critics have said the new law does not go nearly far enough. The leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine called the decision  “a beautification of the deprivation policy by the Lebanese state” and called on the government to grant full civil rights to Palestinian refugees.

Palestinians in Lebanon make up about 10% of the country’s population and half of those registered Palestinians live in one of 12 refugee camps scattered throughout the country.  Palestinians in Lebanon have been denied a number of basic rights enjoyed by Lebanese citizens and other foreign nationals. In 2001 Palestinians were banned from owning property and Lebanese law has long prohibited them from working in certain professions including the law, medicine, and engineering.

Filed under: General •Lebanon •Palestinians


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