The Earth Times Online Newspaper (Free subscription) | 05/13/2008
Beirut - As normal life started to return to Beirut Tuesday, the head of Lebanon's ruling majority Saad Hariri warned that his members would not negotiate with the pro-Syrian opposition with guns to our heads. He accused Hezbollah of occupying Beir...
Daily Star (Free subscription) | yesterday
Middle East Airlines (MEA) is still determined to expand its fleet despite losses the company incurred during the week-long closure of Rafik Hariri International Airport, the company's chairman, Mohammad Hout, said on Friday. "We incurred some losses during the closure of the airport and this natural but we are still going ahead.
Daily Star (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
Lebanon's tourism sector was dealt another setback after the opposition closed all roads leading to Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said on Wednesday. "We are missing a lot of opportunities to attract tourists to Lebanon. First Israel ruined the tourism season when it attacked Lebanon in July 2006.
Asia Times (Free subscription) | yesterday
Tehran ponders the spoils of victoryBy Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS - We were watching the news coming in from Beirut, as armed Hezbollah troopers stormed entire neighborhoods of Beirut, loyal to parliamentary majority leader Saad al-Hariri. The anchor for al-Manar, Hezbollah's TV station, was roaming the streets of Hamra, Ain Mraiseh and Quraytem, reporting on events from his party's perspective....
Daily Star (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
Schools in the southern port city of Sidon will reopen their doors on Friday after the recent clashes between government and opposition supporters forced educational institutions in the area to shut down. Sidon MP Bahia Hariri's meetings with a number of security and military officials in addition to the town's civil.
Michael J. Totten (Free subscription) | 05/14/2008
By Tony Badran (cross-posted at Across the Bay ) In three years, since the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has attempted three coups — and failed. On March 8, 2005, Hezbollah thought that by rallying supporters they would nip the independence movement in the bud, maintain the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and move on as though nothing happened. One week later, March 14 happened,...
Daily Star (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
... told The Daily Star in a telephone interview that "resumption of normal activity should begin at [Rafik Hariri International Airport] at midnight [Thursday]." The reopening of the main highway leading to the airport comes as part of a broader opposition pledge, in adherence with the outlined agreement, to move toward the status quo that existed on the ground before the eruption of...
Lebanese Political Journal (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
The Arab League negotiated between pro-government and opposition forces to create a 6-point plan : 1) Things must return to what they were before May 5, 2008: the government must respond to the Army Command statement and hand the two decisions over to the army; All arms must be withdrawn from the streets and all roads, the Rafik Hariri International Airport and the Beirut Seaport reopened;...
Blacksmiths of Lebanon (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
... the two decisions over to the army; All arms must be withdrawn from the streets and all roads, the Rafik Hariri International Airport and the Beirut Seaport reopened; and the Lebanese army must take charge of national security and civil peace. There must be agreement on returning to dialogue on the national-unity government and electoral law. This agreement must be crowned by the...
Ya Libnan | Lebanon News Live from (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
1) Things must return to what they were before May 5, 2008: the government must respond to the Army Command statement and hand the two decisions over to the army; All arms must be withdrawn from the streets and all roads, the Rafik Hariri International Airport and the Beirut Seaport reopened; and the Lebanese army must take charge of national security and civil peace.
Indybay newswire (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
... Hizbullah's private communications network and the sacking of the head of security at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport. General Wafiq Shoukair, over his reported close ties to the opposition.
Daily Star (Free subscription) | 05/15/2008
... the Masnaa passage to the reopening by opposition members of the main highway leading to Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.In the capital, access roads to the airport, initially blocked by opposition supporters, were cleared of debris in order to facilitate the arrival of the ministerial committee, as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa had made mediation efforts conditional...
Across the Bay (Free subscription) | 05/14/2008
In three years, since the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has attempted three coups -- and failed. On March 8, 2005, Hezbollah thought that by rallying supporters they would nip the independence movement in the bud, maintain the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, and move on as though nothing happened. One week later, March 14 happened, in large part as a reaction to Hezbollah's...
kansascity.com (Free subscription) | 05/14/2008
Lebanese Sunni Muslim leader Saad Hariri vowed Tuesday that his U.S.-backed movement will never surrender to the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its allies, but his words rang hollow after a week of swift and humiliating defeats at the hands of opposition militias.
Voices on the Wind (from Lebanon an (Free subscription) | 05/14/2008
... resigned Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh await the arrival of the Arab Ministerial Committee at Rafik Hariri International Airport. If true, this is more needless display of force, this time of the political kind. I read this as juvenile behaviour aimed only at "rubbing it" in the face of the government's (useless) Arab allies, reminding them of the facts on the ground. In the same...
