Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s president began consultations with members of parliamentary blocs on Thursday to name a new prime minister following last month’s parliamentary elections.

Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati is widely expected to get the largest support from legislators to form a new Cabinet that will be in power until the end of October when President Michel Aoun’s six-year term expires. Such a short tenure could make it difficult for the billionaire premier to form a Cabinet since it usually takes months to form a government in Lebanon due to political bickering.

20 June 2022; MEMO: Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Monday threatened to expel Syrian refugees from the country if the international community fails to repatriate them.

"Eleven years after the start of the Syrian crisis, Lebanon no longer has the capacity to bear this burden, especially under the current circumstances," Mikati said in a speech marking Lebanon's 2022-2023 Crisis Response Plan, which is backed by the UN.

BEIRUT, Jun 19 (NNN-NNA) – Crop harvesters are busy reaping the sprawling wheat fields in eastern and southern Lebanon, marking the start of this year’s harvest season, amid a food crisis in Lebanon, compounded by global supply shortages.

However, a bumper harvest cannot exempt Lebanese farmers from the concerns about heavy financial losses, as the domestic wheat purchase price is 980,000 Lebanese pounds (about 35 U.S. dollars) per tonne, whereas the international prices can be up to 500 dollars, according to the monthly Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Price Index.

BEIRUT, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday called on all political parties to expedite the selection of a new prime minister who can form a new cabinet capable of dealing with Lebanon's steep crisis.

Mikati made the remarks at a university graduation ceremony in northern Lebanon, according to a statement by Lebanon's Council of Ministers, or Lebanon's cabinet.

Lebanon does not have the luxury of time to address its problems, he said, adding any delay in addressing the country's crisis will cost the Lebanese more in the future.

A special UN-backed court has found two members of the Hezbollah militant organisation guilty for the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri in 2005, sentencing them to life imprisonment in absentia, after 13 years of investigations into the matter.

BEIRUT, June 16. /TASS/: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday said the US controls both terrorists and neo-Nazis, meaning Russia and Syria are in battle against the same enemy.

"Russia and Syria are in battle against the same enemy. Both terrorists and neo-Nazis are controlled by the same country: the US," he said at a meeting with Dmitry Sablin, deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on defense, and a delegation of the Donetsk People’s Republic, according the SANA news service.

BEIRUT, Jun 16 (NNN-NNA) – Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), urged yesterday, countries to increase financial contributions, as the agency suffers from a 100-million-U.S.-dollar funding gap.

Philippe Lazzarini said, at a press conference, held on the occasion of UNRWA’s Advisory Commission meeting in Beirut that, “We are facing a major financial crisis, which reduced our ability to deal with the Palestinian refugees’ crisis.”

BEIRUT, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army on Thursday arrested 34 Syrian nationals, including women and children, in Lebanon's southern village of Sarafand over plans to illegally leave for Europe by sea.

A statement released by the Lebanese army noted that the arrested people also include members of a human smuggling network.

The arrested people were referred to relevant judicial bodies for further investigations and other legal procedures, it added.

14 June 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's state-run aid agency, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has supported the renovation and reopening of an Orthodox church in Lebanon, built 170 years ago.

BEIRUT, May 20 (NNN-NNA) – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), yesterday called on Lebanon and Israel, to use the tripartite meetings, to find win-win solutions to the contentious issues along their border.

A tripartite meeting was held yesterday in Ras Al Naqoura, Lebanon, which was attended by the UNIFIL, as well as, senior military officers from Lebanon and Israel.

Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, the UNIFIL head, said, “The tripartite meeting is underscored by the UN Security Council as a vital tool to defuse tensions and avoid miscalculations.”