Tag: sectarianism

Sadr supporters take over parliament a second time

Supporters of powerful Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr penetrated Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone" and occupied parliament on Saturday in a deepening political crisis. It is the second time in days that Sadr supporters have forced their way in to the legislative chamber, months after elections that failed to lead to formation of a government. Demonstrators […]

Nabih Berri plans to be Lebanon's parliamentary speaker again

The Progressive Socialist Party has made up his mind regarding re-electing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that this is the party's definitive decision as "Berri represents one of the most prominent political and confessional components in Parliament." Regarding the Deputy Speaker, the PSP has not decided yet, […]

New Iraqi parliament slotted for 9 January

Iraq's parliament will open on January 9 for its first session since lawmakers were elected in an October vote won by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, President Barham Saleh said Thursday. In multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraq, the formation of governments has involved complex negotiations ever since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and the […]

Berri won't let Amal members lash out at Aoun

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who was expecting a harsher attack from President Michel Aoun, had asked his officials not to hit back, Amal sources said. The sources told al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, that Berri “prohibited” all officials in his movement from “starting arguments” with the Free Patriotic Movement, in response to Aoun’s speech. […]

Mikati agrees to May election schedule but cabinet still unresolved

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said Tuesday that he has signed a decree calling for parliamentary elections to be held in May and has referred it to President Michel Aoun. "I believe that the President will sign it too," Miqati added, at a press conference. The Prime Minister said that the elections can rectify the political […]

GCC wants an end to armed militias in Lebanon

A Gulf Cooperation Council summit has called for prohibiting Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hizbullah "from carrying out its terrorist activities and supporting terrorist militias that threaten the stability of Arab countries." Lebanon's ties with Gulf states have grown increasingly strained in recent years because of Hizbullah’s growing influence and its interference in regional conflicts. A Lebanese minister's […]

Al-Rahi says government must unparalyze itself

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday lashed out at “those who are using their political influence to obstruct Cabinet meetings and the course of the judicial investigation into the port blast disaster.” “We cannot accept a government that paralyzes itself. Are obstructors testing what the reactions would be should they later decided to block parliamentary […]

Saudi, France want Lebanese in charge of their own military

Saudi Arabia and France stressed in a joint statement issued after talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the Lebanese government needs to “carry out comprehensive reforms.” It also needs to “abide by the Taef Accord, which is entrusted with national unity and civil peace in Lebanon,” the […]

Lebanese cabinet in new crisis as dispute with Saudi continues

President Michel Aoun is holding contacts with local and regional leaders to secure the resumption of Cabinet session and resolve the crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries, Baabda Palace sources said. “Aoun is communicating with Hizbullah to soften its stance and prevent the Shiite ministers’ boycott of the Cabinet session next week or […]

Geagea wants confrontation with Hezbollah

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has called for “grabbing the parliamentary majority” in the upcoming elections to “prevent Hizbullah from controlling the formation of governments.” “If they want to make troubles, let them make troubles. A clear political confrontation is necessary,” Geagea added, in an interview with Annahar newspaper published Wednesday. Labeling the electoral battle […]

Quds force commander in Iraq after PM assassination attempt

A top Iranian general visited Baghdad after the assassination attempt against Iraq's prime minister, and said Tehran and its allies had nothing to do with the drone attack that lightly injured the Iraqi leader, two Iraqi politicians said Monday. News of the visit came as an Iraqi army general said the investigation into the drone […]

Sistani succession causes political instability in Iraq

Besides Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, few religious leaders today command as much respect among Muslims and non-Muslims alike as Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the 91-year-old “supreme marja” of the world’s Shiite Muslims. Al-Sistani was a disciple of Ayatollah Abu Al-Qasim Al-Khoei, who was for decades the most renowned religious teacher in Iraq’s shrine city […]

Judicial Council wants Bitar inquiry over and done with

Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar on Monday joined a Higher Judicial Council meeting after he was summoned by the conferees, media reports said. State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat meanwhile left the meeting seeing as he had been recused from the port case. A statement issued by the Council said the summoning of Bitar was […]

Maronite patriarch disclaims charges and counter-charges over Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday expressed sorrow over Thursday’s deadly incidents in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh area, expressing “warm condolences to the families of the victims” and wishing recovery for the wounded. “At the same time we strongly condemn these incidents and the armed appearances that were used between brothers in the same country,” al-Rahi […]

US offers army aid to calm situation in Lebanon

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland met with Lebanese leaders on Thursday, on a visit whose schedule was thrown off by the deadly Tayyouneh clashes -- the most dangerous round of sectarian fighting that the country has witnessed since 2008. Speaking at a press conference that followed her meetings with the country’s […]

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