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Assad: Israel only understands force
Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed that Syria would not stand neutral regarding Lebanese domestic affairs in the event of political alliances against the resistance. "Syria cannot be neutral when it comes to the resistance," Assad said during an interview with Hizbullah-affiliated television station Al-Manar, the mission of Israel is always tackling the Middle East. |
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Award launched in honor of Simon Khazen
The Simon Khazen Award, a new award for audiovisual media achievements, was launched in honor of late director general of the Voice of Lebanon Radio Station Sheikh Simon al-Khazen.
The award will be given to the best television or radio news piece with the most benefit to the people. It consists of $20,000 equally divided between two winners: one for the best television piece and one for the best radio piece.
Participants should ensure their projects do not exceed 15 minutes and they should present their candidacies in person or through the media institutions they work for. Applications will be accepted between March 24, 2010 and January 24, 2011.
The winning projects will be announced on February 16, 2011, after being judged by a panel of academics and media experts. The panel will also be expected to give a speech.
Information Minister Tarek Mitri attended the launching ceremony and praised Khazen’s achievements, stressing that he and Khazen had long talks about media laws and reforms.
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LADE demands vote reforms, timely polls
Campaigners maintained pressure on lawmakers to hold timely and fair municipal elections, stressing reform to voting law “should not be taken lightly.”
The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE), in a statement released in response to Interior Minister Ziad Baroud’s comments concerning electoral reform, reiterated its insistence that municipal elections not be delayed.
“There is still a chance, with some determination, to hold the elections on time,” the statement said.
“Parliament has to approve a draft law for municipal elections within the legal deadlines that allow the polls to be held on time, all the while enforcing the proposed reforms,” it added.
Baroud, who has been meeting with civil society activists for several months concerning this year’s municipal elections, said Tuesday that while he was personally keen to see the vote conducted on time, it was impossible to foresee what amendments – if any – would be made to electoral law.
“Tying organizing the elections with the approval of reforms is a decision to be taken by Parliament,” Baroud said. |
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UN's Williams calls for 'free and fair' municipal elections
Lebanon should hold free and fair municipal elections, the country’s UN Special Coordinator Michael Williams said on Tuesday.
Speaking following a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail in Beirut, Williams urged the Lebanese Cabinet to conduct the forthcoming vote in an equitable manner.
“I understand that Lebanon’s Parliament is in the process of discussing draft reforms for the municipal elections that may take place in the near future,” Williams told reporters.
“Whatever the Lebanese decide in this regard, we hope that the elections will take place in a free, fair and democratic atmosphere,” he added.
Williams added that the recently resumed National Dialogue committee was an indication of Lebanese politicians’ willingness to cooperate with each other.
The committee was “the reaffirmation of the commitment of Lebanese leaders to stability and calm rhetoric as municipal elections draw near,” he said.
Debate rumbles over the need for electoral reform and the constitutional requirement to hold a timely vote, with the Interior, Defense and Municipalities parliamentary committee submitting on Monday a report to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri which outlined the difficulties it faced in amending electoral law within its 15-day legal deadline. |
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Ministers can propose names for vacant posts
The ministerial committee tasked with the formulation of a procedure to fill vacant state administrative positions agreed Tuesday to acknowledge the Cabinet ministers’ constitutional prerogatives in approving appointments.
“What I can tell you so far is that we agreed on certain principles that the committee’s proposed procedure will take into consideration to fill vacancies,” Minister of State for Administrative Affairs Mohammad Fneish said following the meeting headed by Premier Saad Hariri.
“We agreed to respect constitutional principles that grant ministers the right to propose names as well as the Cabinet’s right to approve appointments,” Fneish said.
Fneish added that the law being discussed would also take into consideration the appointments of qualified contractors rather than only state employees to grant equal opportunities to all the Lebanese.
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US to ease airport process for Lebanese
The US administration will abandon its decision of beefing up security measures and special restrictions on Lebanese traveling to United States, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
The CNA added that officials at the Presidential Palace had been notified of the decision before its announcement. In accordance with the decision, which will be disclosed very soon, the CAN said, Lebanese travelers will be treated like all other nationals in US airports.
In the wake of a botched Christmas Day bombing by a 23-year-old Nigerian of a Northwest Airlines plane heading from Amsterdam to Detroit, Lebanon was listed as one of the14 “terror linked” countries whose citizens would be obliged to undergo enhanced screening at US airports. The decision has sparked a wave of criticism and outrage among many Lebanese figures on public and official levels and prompted the Lebanese government to start diplomatic efforts with influential countries aimed at pressuring the US into reconsidering its decision.
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