Lebanon: Ministers Disagree over Return of Syrian Refugees

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By Youssef Diab - english.aawsat.com Beirut – Lebanon’s cabinet session held on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace saw disagreements between ministers over the return of the displaced Syrians to their country. While ministers, who support Bashar Assad, called for cooperation with the Syrian regime to achieve the quick return of refugees, other ministers from the so-called March 14 alliance have rejected any political negotiation with Assad, stressing the need for a return process that would be held under security, political and humanitarian guarantees by the United Nations. Wednesday’s cabinet session was chaired by President Michel Aoun, and followed tense remarks by ministers, some of whom warned against “handing over the refugees to the regime that had abandoned them, and drove them to flee death.”

However, Prime Minister Saad Hariri urged the March 14 ministers to avoid raising the refugee file during the session, noting at the beginning of the meeting that the issue of communication with the Syrian regime was controversial. “We want the return of the refugees to their country today before tomorrow, but it is the responsibility of the United Nations, which has to put a safe plan for this return,” Hariri said, adding that an agreement was reached over the need to put the files that create differences aside. This has not stopped Minister Ali Qanso from stating during the meeting: “Should the Lebanese government fail to cooperate with the Syrian regime, displaced will not return to Syria.” His comments sparked strong criticism by Minister Michel Pharaon, who told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qanso’s remarks were “provocative and involve threats.” During the meeting, Hariri announced he would be visiting the United States to meet US President Donald Trump. He will also travel in August to France and Russia on official visits. For his part, Aoun commended the judiciary to play a key role in reducing security breaches and stressed the need for coordination with the country’s security forces. In a news conference following the session, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said that the president raised recent security issues in the country, praising the role of the Lebanese Army and the security forces and warned against refugee camps “being transformed into hubs for terrorism.”

This Elderly Lebanese Gentleman Has Some Serious Dance Moves

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By Newsweek MiddleEast - The traditional Levantine folk dance, known as ‘dabke,’ has been doing its rounds on the internet thanks to the #WallDanceChallenge that has been dominating social media trends lately. The challenge spread to U.S., France, UAE, Mexico and even Argentina after a video went viral of a group of Lebanese-Australian men doing the dabke – literally ON THE WALL. Dancing on the wall may be insane, but even that pales in comparison to the incredible dance moves of this older Lebanese gentleman that will blow your mind. At the 0:40s mark, the video clip shows the older gentleman “leading” the dabke circle. His quick dance moves and unbeatable energy are unmatched even by the much younger dancers in the crowd. Though the origins of the clip are unknown, the video shows a group of men at what appears to be taken at a wedding party with drumming provided by Zafiet El Afrah, a Canada-based traditional drumming group in Calgary, Alberta.

Lebanon’s Hariri, Arslan Stress Need to Finalize Issue of Internally Displaced

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Asharq Al-Awsat 

Beirut – Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Tuesday with Minister for Displaced Talal Arslan to address the means to finalize the issue of the internally displaced people in Mount Lebanon and the formation of a working group to study the pending cases. In remarks following the meeting, Arslan said: “We discussed the issue of the displaced, especially since the Mountain is the cornerstone of the stability of the country.” He noted however that the way the state is dealing with this issue “is unacceptable”. “My duty and the duty of the state is to give people their rights. I have full confidence in Hariri, who cares about the rights of the people, because the subject needs to be treated in all of its details,” he added. Arslan continued: “We cannot distinguish between the residents of the villages, regardless of their sects. The file of the displaced should be treated as the file of the Lebanese state with all of its components. We must pay attention to the issue of the migration of residents from villages to cities due to the lack of development at all levels.” “It is embarrassing that 27 years after the end of the war, we continue to form governments that include a ministry for displaced affairs,” he remarked. He added that he agreed with Hariri to hold a meeting to discuss all the details of the file and form a working group for this purpose “to see what can be done to give people their rights”. Also on Tuesday, the prime minister received at the Grand Serail Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin. In remarks following the meeting, the Russian ambassador said: “I delivered to Hariri an official invitation from Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to visit Moscow. The date will be set soon. We also discussed ways to develop bilateral relations, political dialogue as well as economic, cultural and military cooperation between the two countries.”

The sweetest drinks: These bestselling beverages have the most sugar per ounce

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Coexistence and 'deepening of democracy in Lebanon' sends message of hope, say Christian and Muslim leaders

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by Catholic News Service

Senior Christian and Muslim leaders and Lebanese government representatives agreed that Lebanon should be highlighted as an example of peaceful coexistence, noting that "the deepening of democracy in Lebanon sends a message of hope to the Arabs and to the world." They also reiterated calls for peace and various churches' support for "the Palestinian people and their national rights" and for Christians to remain in the Holy Land.

The leaders met at Notre Dame University Louaize in Zouk Mosbeh, north of Beirut, 1 July, for a follow-up to two events at Egypt's al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam's highest institute of learning. Addressing a peace conference at al-Azhar in April, Pope Francis emphasised that religion "is not a problem, but a part of the solution" because it helps people lift their hearts toward God "to learn how to build the city of man." Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, spearheaded the July meeting, which included the Vatican ambassador to Lebanon, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia; Sheik Abbas Shouman, deputy of the grand imam of Al Azhar; leaders of the Sunni, Shiite and Druze communities in Lebanon as well as Christian and Muslim experts and Lebanese government representatives.

In their final statement, conference participants declared their willingness to go to the Vatican and other Christian and Islamic world religious institutions "to cooperate and coordinate with them." They also expressed "their desire to clarify the importance and challenges of a common living (Muslims and Christians) in Lebanon, which is the true guarantee of freedom, sovereignty and national independence." "Amid the tragedies of partition, displacement, forced population screening, ethnic cleansing, targeting of Christians by terrorist gangs - as happened in Egypt recently - and targeting others in Iraq and Syria, the dangers of sectarian strife and the escalating conflicts and wars in a number of Arab neighbours, the solidity of coexistence, and the deepening of democracy in Lebanon sends a message of hope to the Arabs and to the world," they stated. "We should do everything we can for Lebanon to remain aware of the seriousness and importance of the Lebanese experience and its relevance to the Arabs and to the international community in a strong and clear manner," they added. They cited St John Paul II's statement that "Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message of freedom and an example of pluralism for East and West."

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