Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir criticized Monday the Lebanese system of governance that merges both the majority and opposition in a cabinet, saying it "paralyzes the nation." "In other states, the majority rules and the minority practices opposition, but in
Local leaders, members of the security forces and residents of the Tawaara neighborhood in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp met Sunday to discuss the fragile security situation in the camp after a series of explosions and heavy fighting erupted last
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt added his voice to the debate over the summit for the proposed Mediterranean Union during a wide-ranging interview with his party's newspaper Al-Anbaa Monday. "We must find a way for this path to
Efforts to assemble a national unity government continued to move forward on Monday after a weekend that saw opposing factions agree upon a general formula for the division of portfolios some six weeks after the Doha accord called for the
Tucked away in the busy streets of Dora, a northern suburb of Beirut, is a small office tackling one of the country's biggest taboos: torture. The Nassim Center opened in September of last year to help victims cope with the
The Italian Embassy and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) unveiled their joint-project for "Mainstreaming and Institutionalizing Gender Based Violence Reduction and Prevention in National Planning" in Beirut on Monday . The project will involve 700,000 euros ($1.1 million) in funding
Lebanese-Canadians made history in July by consecrating a full-time educational institution in the heart of Canada's capital, which is a major milestone for the community. The school is called the Providence Academy and is run by the Antonine Sisters, a
An Iranian US-made F-5 fighter jet has crashed in southwestern Khuzestan Province, the official Islamic Republic News Aency said Monday. The accident took place at the Omideh Air Base. No details were given on casualties or the circumstances of the
A 20-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from driving, died when the car she was driving overturned in Riyadh, a newspaper reported on Monday. The Saudi woman was driving at high speed when the accident occurred late
Syria's ruling National Progressive Front (NPF) on Monday hailed a visit by President Bashar al-Assad to Paris later this month during which he is to hold talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. "Meeting under the chairmanship of its vice
A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the Indian Embassy in Kabul Monday, killing 41 people and wounding nearly 150 others in the deadliest attack here since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban, officials said. The blast in the
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday he is negotiating a deal with Washington that will for the first time set a timetable for a withdrawal of foreign forces as part of a framework for a US troop presence
The prisoners who staged a revolt in a Syrian jail fear that the government's security forces will mount a deadly assault, a human rights group said on Monday. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is considered close to
The International Monetary Fund's Middle East Technical Assistance Center (METAC) indicated that Lebanon accounted for 8 percent of its overall allocation of technical assistance delivery during fiscal year 2008. It was the sixth-biggest recipient of such assistance, ranking behind Syria,
The Arab Finance Corporation launched the first online trading service providing direct market access to the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE). A company executive said that the product is designed to give institutional and private investors the right tools to trade
Uniceramic, Lebanon's largest ceramics factory, has shut down operations and laid off the bulk of its staff due to the high cost of energy and tough competition, a company executive said Monday. n"We were forced to close all of our
Several years into the 21st century, a broad swathe of the planet is awash in bloodshed and chaos. From the Atlantic to South Asia, innocent people are denied the basic rights to pursue their dreams and raise their children because
Beirut- Lebanese Forces leader Dr. Samir Geagea said Monday contacts were underway between forces of the March 14 majority alliance to distribute the remaining cabinet seats among themselves, noting that five days more would be less than five weeks needed
