Rafik Hariri
Latest stories
STL to Unveil New List of Suspects by End of August

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri will take new procedures before the end of August, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Friday.

STL’s Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare obtained new information on the case, the daily said.

W140 Full Story
Suleiman Stresses on Dialogue, Lebanon’s International Commitments

President Michel Suleiman moved to his summer residence in Beiteddine for three weeks, while his consultations with top officials over the dialogue are ongoing, including talks with Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

Wissam Baroudi, the president’s son-in-law, told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the president used his constitutional right concerning the formation of the cabinet.

W140 Full Story
Report: Mirza Informs STL Failure to Inform Suspects about Arrest Warrants

General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has reportedly informed Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare that the Internal Security Forces weren’t able to find the four suspects named in the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted informed sources as saying on Wednesday that Mirza handed to a delegation from Bellemare’s office in Beirut the response of the Lebanese judiciary.

W140 Full Story
Al-Mustaqbal Warns of International Relations Crisis in Case of Noncooperation with STL

The Lebanese cabinet should deal responsibly with the indictment issued in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case or else the country will witness a crisis in its ties with the international community, al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs warned on Saturday.

“In short, we urge the government to act responsibly towards a tribunal decision that received repeated Lebanese consensus at the national dialogue and in previous policy statements,” MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told An Nahar newspaper.

W140 Full Story
Hizbullah Sources: Fransen’s Decision Aimed at Igniting Lebanon

Sources close to Hizbullah have accused the Special Tribunal for Lebanon of seeking to ignite the situation in Lebanon and did not rule out the release of new names in the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case to create instability in the country.

The sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered confidentiality around the charges against Salim Ayyash, 47, Mustafa Badreddine, 50, Hussein Oneissi, 37 and Assad Sabra, 34, be dropped so that he can serve the United States.

W140 Full Story
Fransen Orders Lifting of Confidentiality on Names, Photos of Hariri Murder Suspects

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered the lifting of confidentiality on the full names and aliases, biographical information, photographs and charges against the Hizbullah members named in last month’s indictment, the STL said in a statement on Friday.

The four individuals named in the June 28 indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination are Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra, said the STL.

W140 Full Story
Lebanon's Last Arabic Scribes Struggle in IT Age

Lebanon's few remaining Arabic calligraphers, whose elegant script and interweaving words transport one to another era, are working to preserve an art form struggling to compete with new technology.

"The computer is a wonderful tool but in no way can it replace an artist or produce masterpieces," says Mahmoud Bayoun, one of the country's best-known calligraphers, whose works have been displayed in the United States and Iran.

W140 Full Story
March 14 Slams Hizbullah’s ‘Provocation’ of Comparing Hariri Assassination Suspects to Saints

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Hizbullah’s “provocation” of comparing four suspects in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri to saints.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “These stands demonstrate the party’s nervousness ahead of the unveiling of the truth.”

W140 Full Story
Gemayel to Suleiman: No Dialogue with Backers of ‘Saints’

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel has reportedly said that his party would not engage in dialogue with representatives of Hizbullah who consider the four suspects accused of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder as “saints.”

An Nahar daily said Wednesday that Gemayel made his remarks to President Michel Suleiman the day before after the president launched consultations to inquire about the politicians’ viewpoints on his invitation for national dialogue.

W140 Full Story
Mustaqbal: Hizbullah is Eliminating Results of Dialogue before it is Even Held

The Mustaqbal bloc noted on Tuesday that the recent positions of Hizbullah and March 8 officials over President Michel Suleiman’s possible call for dialogue revealed that they are seeking to eliminate the results of the talks even before they are held.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Hizbullah rejected dialogue over its possession of arms … It appears that it has forgotten that the resistance weapons that liberated the South have lost their legitimacy after they were turned against fellow Lebanese and after they harbored the accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.”

W140 Full Story