Naharnet
Latest stories
Disciplinary council expels Judge Ghada Aoun

The judiciary's disciplinary council issued Thursday a ruling expelling Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun from the judiciary.

Aoun will appeal against the ruling, media reports said, which will halt its implementation until a final decision is taken by the Higher Judicial Council.

W140 Full Story
Bukhari tells al-Rahi KSA has no veto on any presidential candidate

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari met Thursday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkerki.

Bkerki’s spokesperson Walid Ghayad said that Bukhari has told al-Rahi that KSA considers the presidency a Lebanese decision and has no objection to any name.

W140 Full Story
Raja Salameh appears before European judicial team

A European judicial team pressed on with its corruption probe of Lebanon's embattled Central Bank governor on Thursday, questioning Salameh's brother, Raja, for the first time.

Raja Salameh had not shown up at a session last week, citing illness.

W140 Full Story
Bukhari meets Berri, urges quick election of president

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari on Wednesday held talks in Ain el-Tineh with Speaker Nabih Berri.

“The Saudi stance emphasizes the need to speed up the election of a president for the Lebanese republic who would be able to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Lebanese people,” Bukhari said after the meeting.

W140 Full Story
Constitutional Council suspends law extending municipalities' term

The Constitutional Council has issued a ruling suspending the implementation of the law that extended municipalities’ term, media reports said.

The Council will “study the filed appeals and issue its final ruling in the coming weeks, knowing that the term of municipalities will expire at the end of May,” MTV reported.

W140 Full Story
Gemayel warns of 'abyss' after meeting Bou Saab

Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel said Wednesday that he can't head into "the abyss" of six more years of humiliation by electing a president who won't make a change.

"We are open to any solution," Gemayel stressed, after he met with Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, part of an "exploratory tour" the latter had started to discuss the presidential and political crisis with Lebanese leaders.

W140 Full Story
Protesting taxi drivers block key roads across Lebanon

Protesting taxi drivers on Tuesday blocked several vital roads and highways across the country to voice a host of demands.

The drivers blocked the Saifi road, the Beirut-Karantina highway, the Jounieh highway and the main Hamra street following a sit-in at the Riad al-Solh Square.

W140 Full Story
UK and Canada announce winner of 2023 Media Freedom Award

The 2023 Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award was presented Tuesday to independent Egyptian online newspaper Mada Masr for its “extraordinary commitment to high-quality independent journalism,” the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said.

“The newspaper continued to report, amidst a takedown of their website and legal threats to its reporters. This award signals Canada and the UK’s enduring commitment to supporting free and independent journalism,” the FCDO said in a statement.

W140 Full Story
Justice committee convenes over Syrian refugees law

The Administration and Justice Committee studied Tuesday a law aiming at regulating the status of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and decided to adjourn the discussion until next week.

The Committee's head, Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwan, said that he will not accept the integration of the refugees and urged Arab states not to return Syria to the Arab fold before the repatriation of the refugees.

W140 Full Story
Bou Saab meets al-rahi in presidential 'exploratory tour'

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab met Tuesday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkerki, as he starts an "exploratory tour" to discuss the presidential crisis with Lebanese leaders.

"Our real problem is not the name of the president but that parties are not willing to communicate," Bou Saab answered a reporter in a press conference after the meeting, after he had said that he did not discuss with al-Rahi any names.

W140 Full Story