Politics

Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, stressed Monday that it is unacceptable that politicians hold the state's destiny conditional to the interest of a person or a group, no matter how delusional they are of their strength and power."Speaking at the opening session of the "Round of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops" this morning, Al-Rahi considered that "the uprising carried out by the Lebanese people is historic and not subject to any sect."He added: "The people have shown in their uprising that their citizenship belonging is superior to any other affiliation, and hence, have revived the principle foundation upon which the Lebanese regime was initially based, i.e. citizenship and not religion."The advocates of renewal today are among the youth of Lebanon and its people of e...

"Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc Secretary-General, MP Anwar El-Khalil, met on Sunday with Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon, Monica Schmitz Kerkoz, and some members of the Lebanese-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Committee.The meeting took place within the framework of Swiss MP Fabian Molina's first visit to Lebanon, to discuss the committee's projects and the forthcoming visit to Switzerland.Source: National News Agency

Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Syria during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.According to a statement issued by the Russian presidential press office on Saturday, the two sides stressed the importance of continuing joint and coordinated steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in northeastern Syria with strict adherence to principles of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria within the framework of the implementation of Sochi Agreement.Putin and Erdogan welcomed the results of the first round of the Committee of Discussing the Constitution which ended its meetings in Geneva on Friday.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Syria during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.According to a statement issued by the Russian presidential press office on Saturday, the two sides stressed the importance of continuing joint and coordinated steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in northeastern Syria with strict adherence to principles of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria within the framework of the implementation of Sochi Agreement.Putin and Erdogan welcomed the results of the first round of the Committee of Discussing the Constitution which ended its meetings in Geneva on Friday.Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

"Development and Liberation" Parliamentary Bloc Secretary-General, MP Anwar El-Khalil, met on Sunday with Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon, Monica Schmitz Kerkoz, and some members of the Lebanese-Swiss Parliamentary Friendship Committee.The meeting took place within the framework of Swiss MP Fabian Molina's first visit to Lebanon, to discuss the committee's projects and the forthcoming visit to Switzerland.Source: National News Agency

Member of the "Strong Lebanon" Parliamentary Bloc, MP Simon Abi Ramia, disclosed Saturday that an almost unanimous agreement exists among various sides in the country to commission Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the new government."The new cabinet must include competent specialists who are known for their work and integrity, as well as civil society representatives, to be a watchful eye in the government to reassure all popular movement activists," he underlined in an interview to 'Sawt El Mada" Radio Station earlier today."All the political forces should focus on the formation of the government without wasting time, which would result in a positive push to get out of our current crisis," the MP corroborated.Abi Ramia stressed that "there is no square facing another square, a...

Nouakchott, Mauritanian Minister of Water and Sanitation Naha bint Hamdi Ould Meknes received here today a delegation from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), headed by Advisor to SFD Director, Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Tarifi.During the meeting, the two sides discussed relations of cooperation between Mauritania and the Fund, particularly with regard to the support of the SFD for development projects implemented by the water and sanitation sector.Source: Saudi Press Agency

Washington, Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Essa met here today with the White House Advisor Jason Greenblatt.During the meeting, they discussed a number of issues related to extremism and terrorism, and initiatives to promote the values of human and national brotherhood among religions followers, ethnicities and cultures.Dr. Al-Essa also held in New York and Washington extensive meetings with presidents and members of the most prestigious and important international research centers, including the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Atlantic Council, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and the most prominent institutions and research centers, in the context of the ongoing programs of the MWL in the US.During t...

Minister of National Defense Elias Bou Saab received this Friday the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, with whom he discussed the general situation and the latest developments on the Lebanese arena. Richard said "the United States will continue to support the Lebanese Army."Source: National News Agency

President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Friday welcomed at Baabda Palace Head of the European Union Commission to Lebanon, Ambassador Ralph Tarraf, whom the President briefed on Lebanon's bewilderment with regard to the content of a joint statement issued on the 9th of October by the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Budget Committees on "the situation of Syrian refugees and the need to ensure their long-term integration and employment, in a coherent manner, within host communities." "This situation contradicts with the repeated Lebanese calls for the return of Syrian refugees to their country, especially now that the situation has been stabilized in more than 90 percent of the Syrian territories, and due to the fact that armed confrontations have nearly subsided," Aoun ...