#lebanese_forces

#LBC, #Future_TV and #MTV : An Advertising and Political Merger
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/23573

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It is said that when late Lebanese Prime Minister #Rafik_Hariri established the Future media outlets, he discovered the real cost of media production, compared to the payments that individual newspaper, radio and TV owners demanded of him. Today, former Lebanese Prime Minister #Saad_Hariri is thinking about sidestepping his political team’s media outlets to save himself from imaginary losses, keep advertisers in check, stop the waste, bridge the deficit, accomplish a qualitative media leap and, most importantly, keep a tighter grip on media outlets.

#Articles #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanese_Media #Lebanon #March_14_movement #Michel_Aoun #Michel_Gabriel_al-Murr #Pierre_Daher #Samir_Geagea #Mideast_&_North_Africa

#Lebanese_Forces leader Geagea resolved to continue dialogue with General Aoun
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-forces-leader-geagea-resolved-continue-dialogue-general-

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Leader of the Lebanese Forces #Samir_Geagea at his residence in Maarab. Al-Akhbar/Marwan Tahtah Leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea at his residence in Maarab. Al-Akhbar/Marwan Tahtah

The visit by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to #Saudi_Arabia last week received a lot of political attention locally, given its timing and the level of meetings he held with Saudi officials, particularly since it coincided with visits by international envoys to #Lebanon to discuss the issue of the presidential vacuum. Geagea’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his upcoming meeting with head of the Change and Reform bloc General #Michel_Aoun to discuss the presidency and other issues, were two key themes of Al-Akhbar’s interview with the (...)

#Articles #Future_Movement #Hezbollah #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Lebanon #Saad_Hariri

Aoun’s initiative: To make an opening in procedures, or to breach the system?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/aoun%E2%80%99s-initiative-make-opening-procedures-or-breach-syste

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MP #Michel_Aoun giving a speech at his residence in Rabieh. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) MP Michel Aoun giving a speech at his residence in Rabieh. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

It is not surprising that MP Michel Aoun, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), has once again alluded to the Orthodox Gathering’s electoral proposal with a view to achieve true Muslim-Christian parity in the Lebanese political establishment. However, it was truly surprising that Aoun has called for the president to be elected directly by the people, exceptionally, to vote in a new president – as though the real problem lies there, rather in the powers and role of the president post-Taif Accord.

Nicolas Nassif (...)

#Opinion #Articles #FPM #Henri_Helou #Lebanese_Council_of_Ministers #Lebanese_Forces #Michel_Suleiman #Samir_Geagea #Taif_Accord

Lebanese presidency: May 25 is not the deadline for regional efforts
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-presidency-may-25-not-deadline-regional-efforts

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Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri casts his vote to elect the new Lebanese president in the parliament building in downtown Beirut on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid/Pool) Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri casts his vote to elect the new Lebanese president in the parliament building in downtown Beirut on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid/Pool)

Though the Lebanese are anticipating May 25, the constitutional deadline for electing a new president, regional and international powers aren’t concerned with this date. They are only interested in maintaining security and stability in the country.

Hiyam Kossayfi

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#Opinion #Articles #FPM #Future_Movement #Hezbollah #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Lebanon #Michel_Aoun #Michel_Suleiman #Saad_Hariri #Samir_Geagea

Is Rai’s visit to occupied #Palestine a political coup?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/rai%E2%80%99s-visit-occupied-palestine-political-coup

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Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, second from the right. (Photo: Marwan Bou Haidar) Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, second from the right. (Photo: Marwan Bou Haidar)

We watched the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, Beshara Boutros al-Rai, with joyful hearts as he rebuilt the image of the #maronite_church in the Arab East, appealing to the Christians first. Those who are not aware should realize that the image of this Lebanese church - with all due reverence and respect - is confusing for the rest of the east.

Nahed Hattar

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#Opinion #Arab_Christians #Articles #Israel #jerusalem #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanon #Maaloula #Michel_Suleiman #Orthodox_Church #phalange #syria

#Lebanon: Presidential void inevitable
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-presidential-void-inevitable

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Lebanese members of parliament count the votes after casting their ballots to elect the new Lebanese president in the parliament building in downtown Beirut on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid/POOL) Lebanese members of parliament count the votes after casting their ballots to elect the new Lebanese president in the parliament building in downtown Beirut on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid/POOL)

Judging from what happened on April 23 and April 30, the upcoming sessions of parliament to elect a new president are only a facade until political factions can decide on a consensus candidate. The number of MPs attending – those who want to reach quorum and those who want to evade it – will dwindle week after week. The (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Free_Patriotic_Movement #Future_Movement #Hezbollah #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Michel_Aoun #Michel_Suleiman #Saad_Hariri #Samir_Geagea #Tammam_Salam #Walid_Jumblatt

#Lebanon: No rush to elect a new president
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-no-rush-elect-new-president

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Birds fly outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut as members of parliament gather to elect the new Lebanese president on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid) Birds fly outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut as members of parliament gather to elect the new Lebanese president on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid)

Just two weeks ago, the Solidarity Party could have organized an election rally at Forum De Beyrouth and invited representatives of the March 8 alliance. The party’s leader, #Emile_Rahme, would have taken the stage and read a presidential program prepared for him by a leading consulting company.

Ghassan Saoud

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#Opinion #Articles #Free_Patriotic_Movement #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanese_presidential_elections #Michel_Aoun #Saad_Hariri #Samir_Geagea #Walid_Jumblatt

#Lebanese_presidential_elections: Looking for a president, not just a candidate
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-presidential-elections-looking-president-not-just-candid

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Lebanese security forces stand guard outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut as members of parliament gather to elect the new Lebanese president on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid) Lebanese security forces stand guard outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut as members of parliament gather to elect the new Lebanese president on April 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid)

The first parliament session for the presidential elections concluded without electing a new president, though the session confirmed the principle of "no winners, no losers.” The session was nothing more than muscle flexing, with each one of the three main political factions casting their votes. The outcome: No faction comprises a (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Bashir_Gemayel #Charles_Helou #Elias_Sarkis #Fouad_Chehab #Henri_Helou #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanon #Michel_Suleiman #Nabih_Berri #Samir_Geagea #Suleiman_Franjieh #Walid_Jumblatt

#Lebanon’s #civil_war : The scars that remain
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon%E2%80%99s-civil-war-scars-remain

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A woman looking for her children in the aftermath of a powerful bomb that blew up in Tariq al-Jdideh in the mid 1980s. (Photo: Khalil Duhaini) A woman looking for her children in the aftermath of a powerful bomb that blew up in Tariq al-Jdideh in the mid 1980s. (Photo: Khalil Duhaini)

Thirty-nine years ago armed militias crept behind stone walls, snipers crouched on rooftops, and barricades invaded the streets of #Lebanon, commencing a war that lasted for 15 years and claimed the lives of up to 170,000 people. Over a quarter of the country’s population was left wounded and displaced.

Rana Harbi

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#amal #Articles #Hezbollah #Lebanese_Forces #Phalange_Party #SSNP #syria

Thaw in Iranian-Saudi relations pacifies #Lebanon, but what about #syria?
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19350

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Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (L) attending a conference with his entourage. (Photo: AFP) Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (L) attending a conference with his entourage. (Photo: AFP)

The preliminary success of the security plan in north Lebanon, following the appointment of the new government, poses several questions about whether it was the result of a local agreement or a reflection of regional breakthroughs. According to information obtained by Al-Akhbar, the tension between #Iran and the Saudi Kingdom are expected to thaw in the event that preliminary contacts lead to an agreement on some common points. If this succeeds, the security situation would be likely to calm down in Lebanon and a consensus on the next (...)

#Opinion #Aleppo #Articles #Hassan_Nasrallah #Hezbollah #Lebanese_Forces #MARCH_14 #March_8 #Michel_Aoun #Michel_Suleiman #Nabih_Berri #Samir_Geagea #Saudi_Arabia #US

Ex-warlord Samir Geagea announces presidential bid
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/ex-warlord-samir-geagea-announces-presidential-bid

Former Lebanese warlord Samir Geagea will stand for the presidency in May, his right-wing Christian #Lebanese_Forces party said on Friday. Geagea, 61, was the only leader from the 1975-1990 civil war ever jailed, but was released under an amnesty in 2005 after Syria withdrew from #Lebanon after a 29 year occupation of the country. Last month, the Lebanese Forces refused to join a new government finally formed after 10 months of political wrangling, citing the involvement of arch enemy Hezbollah in Syria and its arsenal. read more

#Top_News

Aoun-Geagea: Back to classic presidential face-offs
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/aoun-geagea-back-classic-presidential-face-offs

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MP #Michel_Aoun (L) and head of the #Lebanese_Forces, #Samir_Geagea (R), during the formulation of the Doha Agreement in 2008. (Photo: Bilal Jawiche) MP Michel Aoun (L) and head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea (R), during the formulation of the Doha Agreement in 2008. (Photo: Bilal Jawiche)

As soon as parliament gives its vote of confidence to the new government led by Tammam Salam, #Lebanon’s political factions are set to begin preparations for the upcoming presidential election. Yet it is not the constitutional deadline beginning on Tuesday that will be the starting gun for the expected showdown, but rather the fact the 2014 election has been preempted with new rules: two tough candidates who represent the upper (...)

#Opinion #Articles #Elias_Hrawi #Emile_Lahoud #Free_Patriotic_Movement

March 14: A fake victory and #Hezbollah’s new strategy
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/march-14-fake-victory-and-hezbollah%E2%80%99s-new-strategy

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Lebanon’s Sunni prime minister until his resignation in October 2004, was on his way home for lunch when a suicide bomber detonated a van full of explosives equivalent to 2.5 tonnes of TNT as his armoured convoy passed. (Photo:AFP-Anwar Amro) A burning flame is lit on February 14, 2014 at the place of the explosion in which the ex-premier Rafiq Hariri (portrait) was killed in downtown Beirut, on the ninth anniversary of his death. Hariri, #Lebanon's Sunni prime minister until his resignation in October 2004, was on his way home for lunch when a suicide bomber detonated a van full of explosives equivalent to 2.5 tonnes of TNT as his armoured convoy passed. (Photo:AFP-Anwar Amro)

The only thing that might cool the anger of (...)

#Articles #Ashraf_Rifi #FPM #Future_Movement #gebran_bassil #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanon #Rafik_Hariri #Saad_Hariri #syria

#Lebanon: #MARCH_14 Christians on Shaky Ground With Hariri
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-march-14-christians-shaky-ground-hariri

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Hariri is not very pleased with his alliance with Geagea and Gemayel. Even though they all shared a common political position in 2005.(Photo: Marwan Tahtah). Hariri is not very pleased with his alliance with Geagea and Gemayel. Even though they all shared a common political position in 2005.(Photo: Marwan Tahtah).

#Lebanon’s March 14 Christians are banding together in an attempt to pressure former Prime Minister #Saad_Hariri about the government. However, their game will be over very soon. According to March 14 sources, “March 14 Christians are used by Hariri to fuel his battles then sacrificed when a settlement is reached.”

Maysam Rizk

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#Articles #Boutros_Harb #Kataeb #Lebanese_Forces #Sami_Gemayel #Samir_Geagea

Geagea Interview: We Reject European Efforts to Agree on a President
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/geagea-interview-we-reject-european-efforts-agree-president

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Samir Geagea, leader of the Christian #Lebanese_Forces, speaks during a news conference at his house in Maarab village, north of Beirut, October 12, 2010. (Photo: REUTERS - Mohamed Azakir). #Samir_Geagea, leader of the Christian Lebanese Forces, speaks during a news conference at his house in Maarab village, north of Beirut, October 12, 2010. (Photo: REUTERS - Mohamed Azakir).

Head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea reiterated his rejection of a unity government. Speaking to Al-Akhbar, Geagea stressed the importance of holding presidential elections and declared his rejection of any European efforts to agree on a president in advance.

Hiyam Kossayfi

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#Lebanon #Articles #MARCH_14 #March_8 #Mohammed_Shatah #Special_Tribunal_for_Lebanon #syria

#Lebanon’s #Future_Movement : I Am Santa, Vote for Me !
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon%E2%80%99s-future-movement-i-am-santa-vote-me

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Christmas decorations are seen at a roundabout in the northern Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli on December 20, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid). #Christmas decorations are seen at a roundabout in the northern Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli on December 20, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Joseph Eid).

This Christmas, Lebanese politicians are spreading holiday cheer – so long as it fits their interests and the cameras are rolling. Politicians have found the time in their not-so-busy schedules to host parties and distribute gifts, suggesting to children they are Santa.

Roula Ibrahim

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#Articles #Free_Patriotic_Movement #Jezzine #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanon #Metn #Saida

#Lebanon: Sectarianism Invades #USJ Campus
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-sectarianism-invades-usj-campus

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On the one side, #Lebanese_Forces and Phalangist students repeatedly provoked Shia students with slogans maintaining that USJ was “Bachir Gemayel’s university. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi). On the one side, Lebanese Forces and Phalangist students repeatedly provoked Shia students with slogans maintaining that USJ was “Bachir Gemayel’s university. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi).

Lebanon’s Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), founded by Jesuits over a century ago, experienced a bout of sectarian tensions after student elections in November that threatened to rip the university apart.

Ahmad Mohsen

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#Culture_&_Society #Articles #Beirut #Hezbollah #Phalangists

#Beirut : Sectarian Drama on #USJ Campus
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/beirut-sectarian-drama-usj-campus

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The university had closed the main campus gate and practiced its favorite ritual of cordoning the students to pre-empt any security incident, which always results in the opposite. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) The university had closed the main campus gate and practiced its favorite ritual of cordoning the students to pre-empt any security incident, which always results in the opposite. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi)

The administration of #Lebanon’s #Université_Saint-Joseph (USJ) began an internal investigation into clashes that occurred Monday, November 25, on the #Achrafieh campus. This was after a full day of sectarian tensions, which threatened to turn the university to a war zone between supporters of #Hezbollah, and the Lebanese (...)

#Amin_Gemayel #Articles #Bashir_Gemayel #Lebanese_Forces #Lebanon #Phalangists

Lebanese Artist Resurrects Geagea’s Criminal Record
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-artist-resurrects-geagea%E2%80%99s-criminal-record

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Elefteriades went further. He said, “#Samir_Geagea’s behavior confirms that he is a threat to civil peace in #Lebanon. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Elefteriades went further. He said, “Samir Geagea’s behavior confirms that he is a threat to civil peace in Lebanon. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah)

Over a month ago, during a radio interview, Lebanese music producer #Michel_Elefteriades called #Lebanese_Forces leader Samir Geagea a “criminal” in a (...)

#Culture_&_Society #Articles