NNA - On May 6, 2018 parliamentary elections were finally held in Lebanon after a forced 9-year-long disruption, during which the House of Parliament’s mandate was extended three times in the years 2013, 2014 and 2017.
One-day Parliamentary Elections were held across all the Lebanese governorates on the basis of a proportional law and a preferential vote. This marked the first time that Lebanon has ever held elections based on a proportional representation law.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri was designated on May 24, 2018 to form a new cabinet, which still awaited birth to date.
At the political level, the year 2018 witnessed a "historic" reconciliation between Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Marda Movement Leader, Sleiman Frangieh.
Also, an unprecedented social media political wrangling and controversy has been witnessed among Lebanon’s political figures who resorted to twitter to echo their stances and voices on different issues.
At the economic level, this year witnessed the convening of Rome II Conference in support of the Lebanese army and apparatuses, as well as CEDRE Conference; however, the implementation of both conferences remains pending.
In 2018, a huge dispute broke out between the state and power generator owners after the state’s installation of meters, and the confiscation of generators whose owners failed to comply with the decision of Caretake Minister of Economy, Raed Khoury.
The reeling economic situation did not spare Lebanon’s housing loans, which remain suspended to date.
On another level, the voluntary return of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to Syria took place under the supervision of the Lebanese General Security.
This year, ill-fated road accidents up and down Lebanon have left approximately 400 dead and 7,000 wounded.
At the international level, the most prominent had been the yellow jackets’ massive protests in Paris against a rise in gasoline prices. Also, a historic handshake was witnessed between the leaders of the two Koreas.
Finally, 2018 witnessed the shocking arrest of “Nissan” board chairman, Carlos Ghosn (of Lebanese origin), in Japan.
JANUARY 2018
1/1
- New Year's Eve Riots in France result in burning of over thousand cars
- VAT 11% comes into effect
- People killed in unrest in Iran
2/1
- Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Al-Yaacoub presents credentials to Foreign Minister, Gebran Bassil
- 14 worshipers shot dead on way back from church in Nigeria
3/1
- 14 killed in a suicide attack on mosque in Nigeria
- Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard announces end of unrest
4/1
- 18 killed, 254 wounded in train wreck in South Africa
5/1
- Dead and wounded persons in Zidaniyah
6/1
- Arab Ministerial Meeting for Jerusalem and Palestine.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair: “We have come out with key measures to address Trump decision on Al-Quds.”
7/1
- Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, adheres to constitutional rights, regularity of political action “over 1994 officers dossier.”
8/1
- President of the Republic stresses judiciary’s power to give final word in 1994 officers’ decree case, while Speaker maintains House of Representatives’ right to have final say on case.
- Pope calls on Europeans to accept integration of immigrants regardless of their religious affiliations
9/1
- Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Youssef Fenianos, signs decree appointing 125 persons who passed Civil Service Board’s air observer tests
10/1
- Israeli device found in outlying area of Zawtar al-Sharkiya
- Syrian sets himself on fire in Tripoli
11/1
- New scientific discovery at LAU of Italian genetic fingerprints of Phoenicians in Sardinia
- Commander of US Central Command’s naval forces visits Lebanon to discuss Rome conference of donors
- Communication channels reopened between Future Movement, Lebanese Forces.
12/1
- President of the Republic signs paternity leave bill
13/1
- 6 Injured in car slide on Ansar highway
14/1
- Army: Car bomb explodes in Sidon targeting Mohammad Hamdan (Hamas activist)
15/1
- More than 30 killed in twin suicide attack in central Baghdad
- Speaker Nabih Berri leaves to Tehran to participate in Islamic Parliaments Conference: My proposal on officers' decree beneficial to Lebanon
- Minister of Information, Melhem Riachy, meets Minister of Foreign Affairs, FPM leader Gebran Bassil, and MP Ibrahim Kanaan, “to follow up on reconciliation away from differences.”
- Canadian Foreign Ministry warns citizens against traveling to Lebanon
16/1
- Beirut selected as headquarters for Chinese Council for Trade Promotion
17/1
- Speaker Nabih Berri meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran
- US decides to freeze funds allocated to UNRWA
18/1
- MP Ibrahim Kanaan from Maarab: Reconciliation stable, political and electoral files under discussion. No difference or alliance will affect our understanding
- Customs seizes statue smuggled from United States into Lebanon
19/1
- Blizzard closes number of ports, cuts off mountain roads
- 13 displaced persons found dead in al-Suwairi mountains while attempting to sneak into Lebanon, 6 others rescued
- Minister of Information, Melhem Riachy, meets Prime Minister Saad Hariri at Center House to discuss relationship with Future: Cloud has passed
20/1
- Proceedings initiated with Turkey to receive suspect in Sidon bombing
22/1
- President signs decree on electoral bodies in Lebanon and abroad
- Lebanese doctor Amer Hamadeh reaps European prize for arterial diseases
23/1
- President Michel Aoun starts official visit to Kuwait
- “Case No. 23” first Lebanese film to compete for the Oscars
24/1
- PM Saad Hariri meets in Davos with Jordanian King Abdullah II and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde: All government components are committed to dissociation policy
- Lebanese Ranad Ghayad appointed as economic advisor to International Monetary Fund for Latin America
- Mohammad Ahmad Abdul-Ghani Al-Hujairi arrested on charges of affiliation with terrorist group, murder of Major Pierre Bashaalani and Warrant Officer Khaled Zahraman
25/1
- Forbes magazine puts Lebanese Jawad Fares on its 2018 list for his research on cluster bomb injuries
26/1
- Navigation suspended for second day in a row at Sidon port
- Middle East churches demand speedy return of displaced persons as soon as security is restored in their country
- Singer Nouhad Taraby passes away
27/1
- Prince Alwaleed bin Talal released
- Zajal poet Zaghloul Al-Damour passes away
28/1
- Attack in Kabul leaves 103 killed, 235 wounded
- Meeting in the "House of the Center" between President Saad Hariri and MP Walid Jumblatt
29/1
- Highest Islamic Shiite Council warns against approach to stir up sectarianism by insulting national symbol, Speaker Nabih Berri
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Lebanon
- Supporters of Amal and Berri cut off roads in protest against Minister Gebran Bassil’s “offense”
30/1
- Inter-Syrian dialogue conference kicks off in Sochi
- PM Saad Hariri arrives in Turkey to meet Erdogan, Yildirim
- Supporters of Amal and Berri cut off number of roads to protest “attack” on Speaker of the House
31/1
- Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani at Health Exhibition in Dubai: Lebanon ranks first in Arab world
- Clashes and shooting in Hadat against backdrop of “attack” on Speaker Nabih Berri
- Israeli Minister of War Avigdor Lieberman says Block 9 belongs to Israel, Lebanon responds
FEBRUARY 2018
1/2
- Artist Moussa Al-Maamary passes away
- Gold and silver medals for Lebanon at International Exhibition of Inventions in Kuwait
2/2
- Car rams into crowd of pedestrians in Shanghai injuring 18
- Hamad bin Saeed Al Shamsi figure of the year in Smart Arab Diplomacy
3/2
- Lebanon reaps two wins on first day of Davis Cup
4/2
- One Army element dies, others injured in Bab al-Tabbaneh raid in search of wanted person
5/2
- Parliamentary elections candidacy door open
6/2
- President, Speaker and PM meet in Baabda: To overcome differences, improve political performance amid challenges
- 4 Lebanese top list of Arab beauty experts for 2017
7/2
- Higher Defense Council gives political cover to military forces to counter any Israeli aggression on border be it by land or by sea
8/2
- President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, signs decrees for promotion of officers in Army, Internal Security Forces, General Security, State Security and Customs
- Israeli enemy continues to build wall off Naqoura, UNIFIL monitors and Army in state of alert
- Former Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, appointed as new judge to join STL
9/2
- Dead and wounded in clashes in Ain al-Hilweh camp
- Oil and gas exploration agreements handed over to representatives of France's Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatech
10/2
- Israeli F-16 aircraft shot down, missile remnants hit Bekaa, Hasbani Valleys
12/2
- Meeting in Baabda in presence of three presidents to pursue Lebanon’s plans to confront Israel
- Housing loans subject to new conditions
13/2
- Detailed presentation of new electoral law at Interior Ministry in presence of ambassadors and diplomats
14/2
- Celebration in Biel in commemoration of martyr Rafik Hariri
15/2
- Girl and her mother die in partial collapse of building in Burj al-Barajneh
- US-Lebanese talks at Baabda Palace between President Michel Aoun, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, General Security Chief, Abbas Ibrahim, and advisers on the Lebanese side, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, David Satterfield, and Ambassador Elizabeth Richard and the accompanying delegation on the US side
- All Bekaa illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria closed
16/2
- Lebanon Karate Mission wins third place in World Championship in Japan
- Lebanese expatriate and his wife killed in Istanbul, their child disappears
17/2
- Iranian plane carrying 66 passengers crashes in southwestern Iran
- Silver Medal for Lebanese Ray Bassil at Qatar Shooting competition
18/2
- Council of Ministers forms committee headed by Hariri to study budget figures
19/2
- President of the Republic General Michel Aoun left for Iraq and from there to Armenia.
20/2
- Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, in Lebanon
21/2
- Beirut Port Customs Department seizes 3 tons of hash and a quantity of Captagon pills
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Relationship with Vatican excellent, no one can take it in wrong direction
22/2
- Information Division releases kidnapped child in Barr Elias without ransom, arrests kidnappers
23/2
- Lebanon Radio ranks first in “my language, my identity” competition
24/2
- Spaker Nabih Berri stresses importance of proportionality in new electoral law
25/2
- Iraqi judiciary sentences to death 15 Turkish women accused of belonging to Daesh
- Church of the Holy Sepulcher in occupied Jerusalem closes its doors in protest against imposition of taxes by Israeli occupation authorities
26/2
- Saudi envoy Nizar Maaloula arrives in Lebanon, invites President Michel Aoun to visit Saudi Arabia
27/2
- PM Saad Hariri leaves for Riyadh to meet King Salman, Crown Prince
28/2
- Eleven Marines get sick after opening suspicious letter
MARCH 2018
1/3
- Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union observe sit-in on Baabda presidential palace's way
- MP Mohammad Safadi withdraws candidacy to parliamentary elections, declares political and logistic support for Future Movement's electoral list in Tripoli and the North
2/3
- Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq signs decree on granting full-time jobs to Civil Defense volunteers
4/3
- Many killed and injured during an altercation in the Tyre's Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidieh
5/3
- Former PM Fouad Siniora withdraws candidacy to parliamentary elections
- President Michel Aoun orders Central Bank's Governor, Riyad Salameh, to provide housing loans' funds pledged for applicants
6/3
- Russian Defense Ministry: 32 killed in Russian military plane crash in Syria's Hmeymim Air Base
- Candidate registration to parliamentary elections closes: 976 names in race, including 111 women
7/3
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi from Foreign Ministry: Bassil has asked for displaced Syrians' repatriation and we must create better circumstances for their return
- Fierce clashes break out between Fatah al-Intifada and al-Saaka factions in Beirut's Palestinian refugee camp of Shatila
8/3
- Two explosive devices ready for detonation seized in Ras Baalbeck outskirts
9/3
- Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil inaugurates Lebanese Diaspora Energy (LDE)-Oceania 2018 in Sydney
10/3
- Contention between Free Patriotic Movement and Amal Movement over energy dossier and Der Amar power plant
11/3
- Personal dispute erupts between two families in Baalbeck
- Minister Plenipotentiary Waleed al-Bukhari returns in Lebanon to assume new post as Chargé d'Affaires at the Saudi Embassy in Beirut
12/3
- Family of five dies in short circuit fire in Nabatieh
- 4 killed and 25 injured in a total of 23 car accidents
-President Michel Aoun signs draft state budget decree and referred it to Parliament
13/3
- President Michel Aoun signs decree for extraordinary Parliament session
- Actor and Director Ziad Itani released, arrest warrant issued against Lt. Col. Suzanne al-Hajj
14/3
- PM Saad Hariri reaches Italy to chair Lebanon delegation to Rome 2 conference
-Author Emilie Nasrallah passes away
15/3
- PM Saad Hariri at Rome 2 inauguration: Our interest is to preserve international unanimity
Italy PM Paolo Gentiloni: A message of international solidarity with Lebanon
16/3
- UN Chief asks Lebanon not to interfere in Syrian crisis
17/3
- Member of Palestinian security forces assassinated in the east Sidon refugee camp of Miyye W Miyye
18/3
- Vladimir Putin elected President of Russia for 4th term
19/3
- Lebanese General Security team reaps gold, silver and bronze medals at Moutai world championship
20/3
- Judges refrain from working
21/3
- Deadline to withdraw candidacy to parliamentary elections expires
22/3
- Armed clash in a Syrian displaced encampment in Saadnayel
23/3
- Lebanon reaps two gold medals, one silver and another bronze at the 9th Regional Games of Special Olympics in Abu Dhabi
25/3
- Many casualties and one missing as boat flips over off Raouche
26/3
- 53 killed in Russia shopping mall fire
- Electoral lists registration ends with 77 lineups in the race
27/3
- Cyprus Foreign Minister arrives in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials
28/3
- Cabinet approves minimum wage raise for national research council and salary scale for many public service categories
- Judges suspend work simultaneously with Parliament session to discuss state budget
29/3
- Abdel Fattah al-Sisi elected President of Egypt for second term
- Emirates Airline's Airbus A380 lands in Rafic Hariri airport for first time
- Parliament endorsees three additional degrees to judges
- Parliament endorses state budget bill: 50 MPs approved, 11 abstained from voting, two said no
30/3
- Bloody skirmishes in Gaza upon Earth Day; Israeli Occupation Forces positioning off Lebanon's southern borders
31/3
- Enemy spying drone crashes in Bint Jbeil, Israeli UAV raids incidence area and destroys the jet
- Lebanon wins West Asia Tennis female tournament
- Lebanon wins West Asia Ping-Pong female championship
- 8 injured in car accident at Hermel entrance
APRIL 2018
1/4
- Al-Ahed wins Lebanese Football Cup for sixth time
2/4
- Israeli enemy chief of staff: A devastating war against Lebanese Hezbollah this year
3/4
- Lebanese desert runner Ali Wehbe enters the Guinness Book of Records upon World Autism Day
4/4
-House Speaker Nabih Berri warns against Israeli chief of staff's statements and enemy hostilities and provocative acts
-Two Lebanese publishing houses win Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Abu Dhabi
5/4
- Saudi Envoy Nizar al-Alawla leaves Beirut after inauguration of King Salman Avenue and meetings with a number of leaders
6/4
- Cedre 1 kicks off in France with Lebanon debts exceeding $11 billion
7/4
- PM Saad Hariri at Lebanese Diaspora Energy in Paris: It is impossible to carry on without reforms and law modernization
- The Holy Fire arrives to the Saint George Orthodox Cathedral of Beirut
8/4
- US President Donald Trump says Lebanon facing countless challenges, but Cedre proves the country has many friends and enormous potential
9/4
- Syria's al-Tifour military airport bombarded
10/4
- Foreign Ministry condemns usage of Lebanese airspace to attack Syria
- Macron meets Saudi Crown Prince in France and asks Hariri to join talks: We have joint desire with KSA to support Lebanon
- Russia vetoes US draft resolution to investigate chemical weapon use in Syria
11/4
- Russia, Egypt resume air flights after two-year suspension
- Climber Zainab Rassi hoists the Lebanese flag holding President Michel Aoun's signature at a 5350-meter Himalaya summit
12/4
- Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi in a call to the international community: Stop war in Syria and make peace through political and diplomatic channels
- Vehicle steps on landmine in Arsal outskirts, three passengers killed
13/4
- Zainab Salam hoists flags of the Lebanese Army and operation "Dawn of the Outskirts" at Himalaya's Island Peak
14/4
- Foreign Ministry condemns air raids on Syria
-President Michel Aoun in Saudi Arabi
15/4
- 29th Arab Summit titled "al-Quds Summit" in Dhahran: To enhance joint action to face dangers and preserve Arab countries' security and stability
16/4
- Saudi King informs President Michel Aoun that tourists form the Gulf to visit Lebanon in summer
17/4
- Syrian air defense systems gun down missiles in Homs
18/4
- President Michel Aoun signs 2018 state budget law
- First stage of displaced Syrians' voluntary return to Syria kicks off
19/4
- Two hot air balloons belonging to the Israeli enemy fall in Baaqline and Jiyyeh
-Cabinet approves new horary for employees
20/4
- Russian Foreign Minister: US strikes remove moral hurdles for S-300 missiles for Assad
- Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi lays cornerstone of Saint Charbel Church in Doha
21/4
- US Embassy: During his meeting in Lebanon, General Votel reaffirmed US government’s commitment to the Lebanese-American partnership and its support to the Lebanese Armed Forces in their capacity as the sole defender of Lebanon
- Lebanese man killed while on ICRC humanitarian duty in Yemen
22/4
- Altercation in Choueifat with machine guns being used
24/4
- MP Sami Gemayel presents motion challenging state budget law
- President Michel Aoun calls House Speaker Nabih Berri to reconsider article 49 of state budget law
25/4
- Lebanese pavilion wins Best Stand Award at Arabian Travel Market 2018 in Dubai
26/4
- Constitutional Council suspends article 49 of budget law
- Cabinet approves appointment at the National Museum, Conservatory and Library, with 11 women named
- Lebanon officially rejects UN and EU statement on displaced Syrians
-Cabinet suspends request of power barges until related ministerial challenges are settled
27/4
- First stage of expatriates' vote process kicks off
- North, South Korean leaders hold summit
28/4
- Israeli enemy force kidnaps Lebanese woman from an area outside the border line in Shebaa axis
29/4
- Second stage of parliamentary elections' process kicks off
MAY 2018
1/5
- Morocco cuts ties with Iran over transfer of “Polisario” weapons through its Embassy in Algeria
2/5
- Maronite Bishops Council supports positions of President of the Republic, stresses on the return of Syrian refugees to safe areas in Syria
3/5
- Public sector staff partake in electoral voting
- Arab League announces its solidarity with Morocco on severing relations with Iran
- Lebanon wins Rugby Union’s West Asia Championship
- Army detects enemy aerial monitor in Touline outskirts
4/5
- Mahmoud Abbas re-elected as President of the Palestinian Liberation Organization
5/5
- President of the Republic: Conflict in Syria has become a Middle East matter, Hezbollah is now part of the balance of power and can no longer emerge alone from the battle
6/5
- Lebanon's Parliamentary elections begin
7/5
Clashes In a number of areas in Beirut following announcement of Parliamentary elections results
8/5
- Tehran praises Hezbollah's victory in Lebanon’s Parliamentary elections
- One person killed in Choueifat in wake of Parliamentary elections
- Trump announces US withdrawal from Iranian nuclear agreement
9/5
- Arab Information Ministers Council convenes in Cairo
- Three Americans released in North Korea
10/5
- Rocket lands in vicinity of Hibarieh, Qeb Elias during exchange of fire between Syrian forces and Israeli enemy
- Russia calls on Israel and Iran to exercise restraint in wake of Israeli raids on Iranian infrastructure in Syria
11/5
- Government Hospital Staff declare strike
12/5
- PM Saad Hariri dissolves Future Movement’s electoral body, electoral machine, coordinating branches in Beirut, Western and Middle Bekaa, Koura and Zagharta
- Nader Hariri resigns
13/5
- Honorary President of Baalbeck International Festivals Committee passes away
14/5
- Constitutional Council annuls seven articles of Budget Law by a 9/10 majority
- 52 Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation bullets during clashes on the Gaza Strip border
- United States officially opens its embassy in Jerusalem
- Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Display of evidence before the First Instance Room in case of Ayyash and others
15/5
- Foiled attempt to smuggle two kilograms of cocaine into Beirut Airport
16/5
- Saudi Arabia: Hezbollah is a global terrorist organization with its military and political wings,
US-Gulf sanctions on the Party's Secretary-General, his deputy and eight leaders
17/5
- Barrel of oil breaks price of eighty dollars internationally
- Council of Arab Foreign Ministers convenes, demanding an international investigation into occupation crimes in Gaza
18/5
- France freezes assets of Syrian and Lebanese companies on charges of involvement in Syrian chemical weapons program
19/5
- “Capharnaum” by Nadine Labaki reaps jury award in Cannes
20/5
- Wounded taken in a clash between smugglers near the border in Hermel
21/5
- Nicolas Maduro wins second presidential term in Venezuela
22/5
- Cabinet approves plan to save electricity sector in accordance with Energy Minister’s proposals
23/5
- Election of Nabih Berri as House Speaker, Elie Ferzli as his deputy
24/5
- PM Saad Hariri commissioned to form new government
25/5
- Netherlands, Austria hold Russia responsible for Malaysian plane crash in Ukraine in 2014
6/5
- Foreign Affairs Minister, Gebran Bassil, sends letter to Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moualem, expressing Lebanon's concern over possible negative repercussions of Law No. 10 issued in Syria on 4/4/2018, aimed at setting up a general organizational plan in the areas destroyed by the Syrian war
27/5
- Clashes in Baalbek in wake of family feuds
28/5
- Deliberations to form new government begin
29/5
- French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi, at the Elysee on an official visit
- Heavy rain floods the streets in al-Qaa, Hermel and Dennieh
- Release of Lieutenant Susan al-Hajj
30/5
- 11 people poisoned in Tripoli after having candy from a mobile vendor
31/5
- 5 casualties in an accident on Qalamoun Highway in direction of Tripoli
JUNE 2018
1/6
- Democratic Gathering, Lebanese Forces Party announce preparations to challenge new naturalization decree
2/6
- Republic Presidency: Anyone in possession of information about certain persons’ nationality ineligibility should submit said information to General Security
3/6
- Warehouse raided in al-Ouzai, more than 15 thousand kilograms of cannabis material confiscated
5/6
- Lebanon requests UNHCR to set a plan to begin the return refugees to safe areas inside Syria
- Boat sinks off Tunisia coast with 52 migrants on board
6/6
- Saint Joseph University reaps two gold, one bronze medal in German University Tournament
7/6
- Constitutional Council receives 17 electoral appeals, number of candidates of contested parliament membership reaches 40
8/6
- Hezbollah Secretary-General, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: Even if the whole world unites to force us out of Syria, we would only leave at the request of its leadership
- Bassil issues instructions to stop residency applications for UNHCR
9/6
- Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, bound for Saudi Arabia to meet with officials
10/6
- Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi: Naturalization decree violates the Constitution in its introduction, International community fails to encourage the displaced to return, but rather frightens them
11/6
- US President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un hold talks in Singapore
12/6
- Caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi launches “Eye Police” application, in cooperation with the National News Agency and Cyber Waves
13/6
- PM-designate Saad Hariri in Moscow, meets with President Vladimir Putin
- Heavy rains sweep towns of Ras Baalbek, Al Qaa
14/6
- President of the Republic to International Support Group: Lebanon, loyal to its obligations to the displaced, calls for the start of their return, incurred losses as a result of displacement reach 9 billion & 776 million dollars
- Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister, Gebran Bassil, after meeting High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi in Geneva: We are not looking for a problem with UNHCR and the United Nations
- Progressive Socialist Party files appeal against naturalization decree
16/6
- Clash in Ser’een Fawqa in Baalbek results in several injured, death casualties
- Middle East plane makes its first round-trip flight between Beirut and Madrid
19/6
- Caretaker Water and Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil declares complete transition from red fuel to green fuel, deems it a major environmental step, no more contaminated diesel oil in Lebanese market
20/6
- Pope Francis in a letter to President of the Republic: We work with Lebanon to serve peace and dialogue
- EU: Unprecedented support package for Lebanon worth 165 Million Euros
- ‘Strong Republic” Bloc Deputies appeal against naturalization decree
21/6
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Beirut
22/6
- Army units dismantle electronic spy device in Kfarshouba Hilltops
- Hariri circular to raise a white flag underneath the Lebanese flag bearing the slogan, “Lebanon without drugs, without addiction”
23/6
- Speaker Berri calls for ending anomalous, shameful situation in the Bekaa, says he would have other measures if no practical, decisive, bold steps are immediately initiated on-ground
24/6
- Re-election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
25/6
- Libyan Navy: Rescue of approximately one thousand migrants in the Mediterranean within 24 hours
- Samir Geagea following his visit to Hariri: Atmosphere in the country does not help to form a government, we will cease political debates and we remain attached to Meerab Understanding
26/6
- Heavy deployment of Army units to activate security plan in Baalbek and northern Bekaa regions
- Nuhad al-Machnouk from Baabda: President asked to await Shoura Council decision in the two appeals against naturalization decree
- Presidential Press Office: The President has the right to choose the Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers to monitor the work of Council of Ministers and the government performance, in respect for his Constitutional oath
- Silver Medal for Lebanon in Medium Weights Competition
27/6
- Minister Cesar Abi Khalil launches first electric car charger station from Medco - Gemmayzeh
28/6
- One dead as a result of World Cup in Beirut’s Southern Suburbs
- President Aoun, PM-designate Hariri discuss government formation process: I am in full understanding with the President of the Republic, maters need some time and effort
30/6
- PM-designate Saad Hariri meets with former Prime Ministers Najib Mikati, Fouad Siniora and Tamam Salam
- US President confers with Saudi Monarch, both agree on oil market stability
JULY 2018
1/7
- Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi regrets the renewed dispute between the people of Yamuna and Hakura: to return to Arbitral Tribunals' Decisions
2/7
- President Aoun: Solution to the contention between Yammouneh and Aqoura is underway and those two towns are considered as one
- UN: Number of displaced in southern Syria climbs to 270,000
- Geagea after meeting Aoun: We did not address any defense strategy but rather agreed on a roadmap to speed up government formation
3/7
- Hariri receives call from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
-Syria Calls upon Displaced Nationals Abroad to Return Home
4/7
- Sate Minister Ali Kanso dead after severe battle with cancer
-Turkey Transfers Some Powers to President
- ISF thwarts 17 kilograms of cocaine smuggling attempt at Beirut airport
- Jumblatt from Baabda: Aoun keen on unity of Mountain
- A minor 4.3 earthquake hits Lebanon
5/7
- Derian receives phone call from Hariri, says instructions given to Finance Minister to imburse Makassed issue
6/7
- Maarab Agreement leaked
7/7
- The Islamic Sharia Council calls for facilitating task of forming the cabinet
8/7
- Roger Feghali wins 41st Lebanon Rally
- SANA: Air defenses hit Israeli plane, thwart missile strike
9/7
- Aoun to Kaag: New government shall pay special attention to economic affairs, anti corruption
10/7
- Rahi from Baabda pushes parliamentary blocs to facilitate cabinet formation away from personal interests
- Hariri after meeting Berri: All should make sacrifices for sake of Lebanon, economy
11/7
- Huge Fire, Faintings as 50 Gas Cylinders Explode in Kfar Tibnit
12/7
- Arguments between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party
- Ministry tells generator owners to start installing meters
- Shakira in Lebanon to open Arz International Festivals
13/7
- Ghanem visits Aoun, confirms no ban on Kuwaitis' travel to Lebanon
14/7
- Rahi, Geagea convene in Bkaa Kafra
15/7
- Arrival of Turkish ship for electricity generation off Jiyeh coast
- France wins 2018 World Cup final
16/7
- Ansari delivers to Aoun Rouhani's message on nuclear deal
- Trump sides with Russia against FBI at Helsinki summit
17/7
- House of Parliament elects 17 committees
- Body of St. Marina arrives at Beirut Airport
18/7
- Ethiopia makes first commercial flight to Eritrea in 20 years
- Berri tells US Ambassador Parliament about to study cannabis legalization for medical use
- Turkish power barge gives Lebanon three months 'free' electricity
19/7
- 1 dead, 12 hurt in Deir Zahrani accident
20/7
- The Israeli Law Declares the Country the 'Nation-State of the Jewish People'
21/7
- Adviser on Russian Affairs George Shaaban and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov discuss return of Syrian refugees
22/7
- The Maronite Patriarch, Mar Nasrallah Boutros Rahi, appeals to the United Nations and the Security Council to annul the decision of the Knesset
- Enemy warplanes conduct mock raids over Yamouneh, bombard positions inside Syria
23/7
- Army raid in Brital ends with 1 suspect dead and 16 arrested
- Student Mohammad Fadel wins third place in calculus competition
- Fifteen injured in Burj Shemali gunfight
24/7
- Greece wildfires death toll hits 80
- Damascus says Israel targeted warplane in Syrian airspace
25/7
- More than 200 killed in southern Syria as Islamic State launches devastating assault
- Turkey to place US pastor under house arrest after over 600 days in prison
- Hariri expresses optimism from Baabda over cabinet formation
26/7
- Russian envoy deems talks with Lebanese officials very positive
- Trump threatens sanctions against Turkey over American pastor
27/7
- 'Blood moon' dazzles skygazers in century's longest eclipse
28/7
- Machnouk from Saudi Arabia: Honeymoon with the "Free Patriotic Movement" is over
29/7
- Representative of Speaker Berri from Yammouneh: We will not accept to bring down the tenure of President Michel Aoun
- The longest cedar tree in Akkar with 36 meters high
30/7
- Death of Lebanese calligraphy artist Fares Malaeb
31/7
- House Speaker Nabih Berri meets with Foreign Affairs Minister Gibran Bassil
- Turkish court rejects U.S. pastor's appeal
AUGUST 2018
1/8
- President Aoun marking graduation of officers: I confirm my intention to cooperate with Hariri to get the country out of the crisis of delaying the birth of a unity government without marginalizing any component
- Lebanon seizes nearly 1 million Captagon pills in separate busts
- Lebanon wins West Asian Basketball Championship
2/8
- Geagea meets Abu Hosen in Meerab: Our viewpoints are similar
3/8
- Turkey dismisses US 'threats, sanctions' over detained pastor
4/8
- Deputies of the "Development and Liberation" bloc hold sit-in in front of the main gate of the thermal laboratory in Zahrani
5/8
- Venezuela President Maduro survives 'drone assassination attempt'
6/8
- Arslan visits Bassil at Villa Boustros: Monopolizing a sect or a community by one person or one political line disrupts the government's decision-making
7/8
- U.S. to Restore Sanctions on Iran
- Ministers of Interior, Energy and Economy confirm to install meters
- One killed, ten injured in car crash in Bchamoun
8/8
- Riachy says Lebanese Forces presence in government non-negotiable and the Free Patriotic Movement are free to say what they want
9/8
- Hariri, Berri meet in hopes of Cabinet breakthrough
10/8
- Turkish lira hits fresh historic low
- 2 cops among 4 killed in eastern Canada shooting
11/8
- Riachy meets Speaker Berri and PM Saad Hariri delegated from Geagea
12/8
- Rahi appeals to officials in the Lebanese Republic to turn their personal interests into the benefit of their country
13/8
- Iran's Khomeini rejects Trump offer of talks, chides government over economy
14/8
- Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: Hezbollah stronger than Israeli army
15/8
- Qatari emir vows $15bn Turkey investment after Erdogan meeting
16/8
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa Mikhail Bogdanov welcomes the personal representative of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, Georges Shaaban
17/8
- US threatens more action against Turkey unless pastor freed
18/8
- Wael Abou Faour: PSP insists on 3 Druze ministers
- Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan dies at 80
19/8
-Lebanese Dominique Abu Nader reaps silver medal in Asian Games in Jakarta
- Nasrallah, Ansarullah delegation meets over developments
20/8
- Lavrov holds joint conference with Bassil, says Russia to help Lebanon return displaced Syrians and Lebanon should not become a hostage of the Syrian refugees' issue
21/8
- Aoun warns timeframe for forming Government ‘Not Open-Ended'
22/8
- 6 injured including 3 children in the collision of 3 cars on the Marjayoun-Hasbaya highway
- Geagea, the accurate representation of Christian shares - according to parliamentary, political and popular size - would give eight ministers to the Strong Lebanon bloc, five to the LF, one to Kataeb and one to the Marada Movement
23/8
- U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Robert Story Karem meets Lebanese officials
24/8
- Political discourse hits high between Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement
25/8
- Jumblatt: We are not hindering Cabinet formation
26/8
- Lebanon Ranks 4th Worldwide in Math and Science Education Quality
- Hezbollah chief: STL does not mean anything to us and warns against 'playing with fire
27/8
- Lebanese Forces' leader, Samir Geagea, criticizes via his Twitter account the attempts of some sides to obstruct the formation of the new government for the sole purpose of "sizing" his party
28/8
- Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri warns that he would name those who are obstructing the formation of the new government
- Rahi welcomes Swiss President, says refugee return must not be linked to political solutions
29/8
- Hundreds of demonstrators gather in front of the Beirut Municipality building to protest the government's plan to install waste incinerators in the capital
-Patriarch Rahi from Baabda: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is likely to submit to President Aoun a new Cabinet lineup in the coming two days
30/8
- Lebanon considers granting divorced women more rights
- Minister of Public Works: Airport crisis not Transport Ministry's fault
- UNIFIL welcomes UN Security Council's unanimous vote on mandate extension
31/8
- 3 dead and 7 injured as a result of a collision of 6 vehicles in Beirut
- United States set to stop all funding to UNRWA
SEPTEMBER 2018
2/9
- Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian: For no interpretation on PM-designate powers’ text
- Sheikh Naim Qassem: Accession to presidency cannot be realized through government formation
3/9
- PM-designate Hariri announces from Baabda: National unity government lineup handed to President
4/9
- MP Ibrahim Kanaan after “strong Lebanon” bloc meeting: Hariri's Cabinet lineup is “for mere formalities’ sake”
- Syrian TV: Air defense intercepts missiles fired by Israeli aircraft on Wadi al-Ayoun in Hamat countryside
5/9
- Former PM Najib Mikati: There are attempts to bypass PM-designate’s powers. I fear this would lead to more complications
- Speaker Nabih Berri warns of the seriousness of the economic situation: Lebanon in “intensive care” so let’s us cooperate to overcome current stage
6/9
- 8 injured in traffic accident on Zouk Musbeh Highway
- Golden and bronze medals for Lebanon in Karate Shoto, Japan
- Speaker Nabih Berri to Editors’ Syndicate: We are all responsible for government formation delay
- Four ministers in the caretaker government head to Syria to participate in the opening of the Damascus International Fair
7/9
- Technical failure on SITA's communications network at airport disrupts registration process. Heavy congestion at departure halls
- Russian, Iranian and Turkish Summit in Tehran to discuss gradual stabilization in Syria’s Idlib
8/9
- President of the Republic awarded honorary doctorate from Notre Dame University-Louaize
9/9
- Golden medal for Lebanon in Asian weightlifting Masters Games
- Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea: We insist on our full participation in new government.
10/9
- President Michel Aoun from Strasbourg: Government will be formed soon as a balanced formula is reached. No sect should monopolize representation or marginalize any side
- Golden and silver medal for Lebanon in weightlifting Masters in Malaysia
11/9
-President of the Republic from Strasbourg: For activating decisions of financial support for Lebanon. We refuse to link the Syrian displacement with the political solution that may take long.
- Premier Hariri at the opening of the STL closing arguments: Whoever committed the assassination crime will pay the price
12/9
- Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh for the third time among best rulers of central banks in the world
-Premier Hariri: Cabinet lineup submitted. President Aoun asks for amendments
13/9
- “Loyalty to Resistance” addressing Energy Ministry and EDL: Unbalanced rationing might trigger popular unrest
14/9
- Prosecution concludes STL closing arguments
15/9
- Longest incense burner in the world dangled from Hadashit outskirts down to “Salib” Monastery, Holy Valley
-Syria: Air defense intercepts Israeli missile attack on Damascus International Airport
16/9
- GAME Lebanon Association wins World Beyond Sport Award
17/9
- Akkari Al-Jdaideh records longest “Taouk” skewer in the world
- Putin, Erdogan agree on 15 km front line in Idlib
18/9
- Russia warns Israel of possible reactions to the downing of its aircraft in Syria
- PM-designate Saad Hariri: What is happening is a conflict among political parties. It is unfortunate to name a street after Mustafa Bader Eddine
19/9
- Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: Nothing new in the government formation file and we demand that the atmosphere of dialogue be maintained
20/9
-Walid Jumblat opposes any visit by PSP Ministers to Syria
21/9
- FBI Director Christopher Ray holds talks with three leaders, security chiefs
22/9
- Maronite Patriarch from Canada: Lebanese officials ruining their nation rather than building it
- Army rescues sinking boat with 39 Syrians aboard, recovers body of a child off the coast of Akkar
- Foreign Ministry deplores attack on Iran’s Ahwaz
23/9
- President of the Republic chairs Lebanon's delegation to New York
- Argument on electricity issue between MP Yassin Jaber, Minister César Abi Khalil and MP Walid Jumblatt.
24/9
- Legislative session at the House of Parliament. Four sit-ins in Riad El-Solh concerning waste management, the kidnapped and professors.
25/9
- Maronite Patriarch to NNA from Canada: For a mini-emergency government independent of blocs and capable of carrying out required reforms by CEDRE
- Justice Minister deplores misinformation campaign about President Aoun's flight to New York: File in custody of judiciary
26/9
- Departure flights suspended at airport due to dispute between internal security and airport security agencies
- President of the Republic from the United Nations: We vehemently reject any settlement project, whether for the displaced or refugees. We reject any procrastination or bargaining in this fateful file, or linking it to political solution
27/9
-Central Bank Governor says Lebanese banking sector will not be affected by US sanctions against Hezbollah, underlines monetary stability.
28/9
- Iran's foreign minister rejects Israeli enemy’s allegations of Tehran’s possessing secret nuclear weapons arsenal
- Israeli enemy claims Hezbollah has rockets in Beirut
29/9
- Hundreds of people killed and injured by powerful earthquake followed by tsunami in Indonesia
30/9
- Child Fatima Atwi reaps world title in mental calculation
OCTOBER 2018
1/10
- Charles Aznavour passes away
- Foreign Minister organizes tour for ambassadors in Beirut’s southern suburbs: We do not accept missile platforms in airport vicinity
- Dar al-Sayyad closes after 75 years
2/10
-Greek Foreign Affairs Minister in Beirut
- Tehran denies French accusations of plotting attack near Paris
3/10
- PM-designate Hariri from Baabda voices optimism: We agreed to accelerate government formation. There will be another meeting with Aoun soon
4/10
- US Office of Foreign Assets Control: New sanctions on companies and people as part of campaign to halt Hezbollah funding networks
- Fire trade between gunmen in Baalbek’s Sharawneh camp, shell falls in Serail Square
5/10
- PM-designate Hariri: Government will be formed within 10 days. Settlement with President of the Republic ongoing
- Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanese Forces argue over number of ministers, portfolios
6/10
- Speaker Berri: Government formation process back to square one
7/10
- Turkish Government: Saudi journalist Khashoggi killed inside Saudi consulate
8/10
- Nobel Prize for Economics awarded to William Nordhaus, Paul Romer
9/10
- Talal Arslan: Five names presented to President Aoun to choose one Druze minister
10/10
-Walid Jumblatt warns against attempts to interpret settlement as “relinquishing od constants”
- Professor Joseph Al-Marawi awarded for best scientific research in neurosurgery and spine
11/10
- Aoun welcomes from Yerevan Francophone Organization’s decision to adopt Beirut as the headquarters of its regional office in the Middle East. Aoun also welcomes his election as Francophone Summit Vice President
12/10
- Geagea Bureau: Bassil not entitled to set criteria for government formation
- Turkish court lifts house arrest and travel ban on US pastor Andrew Branson
13/10
- Foreign Minister: We insist on national unity government
14/10
- Enemy drone destroys spy device in Hallousieh
15/10
- Jordan, Syria reopen Nassib border crossing
- Casualties in Mieh w Mieh refugee camp clashes
- Bassil asks FPM partisans, supporters to halt media campaigns against LF
- Information Minister from Center House: Government formation within days
16/10
- Pompeo reaches Riyadh to discuss Khashoggi's disappearance case
- Iraqi Foreign Minister in Beirut
- Cave similar to Jeita Grotto in specification and content discovered in Jib Jenin
- Walid Jumblatt from Baabda underlines need for settlement, hands Aoun list bearing on solution for third Druze minister
17/10
- Paul Salem first Arab president of Middle East Institute in Washington
- Riachy after meeting Basil: Reconciliation is sacred and all differences of views will not lead to disagreement
- Kanaan: We want productive government, not “government of barricades”
18/10
- President of the Republic: We are seeking national unity government
19/10
- Hariri, Bassil meet at Center House. Hariri met earlier with Riachy, Abu Faour.
- Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: Government formation should not be undertaken on the basis of settling accounts and imposing sizes at the expense of the country
20/10
- Armenia’s Prime Minister in Beirut
- Syrian Foreign Ministry: International coalition committed war crime in the villages of Sousse and Bubradan
21/10
- Elie Firzli: We are inching closer to government formation
22/10
- Pope Francis meets Rahi at the Vatican
23/10
- Hariri affirms no dispute with PSP leader Walid Jumblatt
24/10
- Consultative Gathering Sunni MPs: Our representation in new government is irrevocable right
25/10
- Heavy clashes in Mieh w Mieh refugee camp
26/10
- Israeli enemy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Muscat
27/10
- Hariri from Ain Tineh: Government within days
28/10
- Sheikh Nabil Kaouk: Inching closer towards government formation, atmosphere positive
29/10
- Samir Geagea: We decided to join government
- Riachy hands Hariri names of LF ministers in new government
30/10
- Hariri visits Aoun at Baabda palace away from limelight
31/10
- Aoun on Sunni hurdle: The group asking to be represented in government is formed of individuals rather than being a bloc
NOVEMBER 2018
1/11
- Swiss Foreign Minister kicks off Beirut visit
- Customs seize Turkish boat loaded with cannabis before leaving Tripoli port
- Former MP Nicolas Ghosn passes away
2/11
- US Treasury Department says will add 700 new entities and persons to Iran sanctions’ list
3/11
- Slight earthquake jolts Sidon, Tyre, and Nabatieh
4/11
- Mahdi Amhaz wins gold medal in throwing force world championship
- Two silver and three bronze medals for Lebanon at Germany’s International Exhibition of Inventions and New Ideas
4/11
- Maronite Patriarch says government can’t be formed based on influential politicians’ agreement, but as required by Constitution and Charter
5/11
- US sanctions on Iran take effect
- Qatar rejects accusations of interfering in Bahrain's internal affairs
6/11
- Ahmad Qabalan from Bkirki: We dispatched a message to Hezbollah to help eliminate cabinet formation obstacles
- Generator owners go on two-hour strike, turn off generators for two hours
7/11
- Minister of Justice says judiciary acting against generator owners’ rebellion
- Minister of Economy: No to blackmailing citizens
- Maronite Bishops: To activate resigned government
8/11
- Syrian TV: Syrian army liberates Daesh hostages in Hamima
9/11
- Evacuation of thousands in northern California amid deadly brush fires
- President of the Republic General Michel Aoun meets 6 independent Sunni MPs
10/11
- Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: We will not endorse any government that is not represented by independent Sunni MPs
11/11
- 48,000 participants from 109 nationalities partake in Beirut Marathon
- Paris commemorates 100-year anniversary of World War I
12/11
- House of Parliament approves proposed law on forcibly missing persons
- Minister Gebran Bassil visits central house
- Two Lebanese films "RESONANCES" and "Tars - The Journey to the Visual” win Gold and Bronze Awards at Carthage Film Festival
- Israeli raids and rockets on Gaza Strip and occupied territories
13/11
- PM-designate Saad Hariri: There’s a decision by Hezbollah to disrupt government formation, I am the father of Sunnis in Lebanon and I know where lies the interest of all
14/11
- Minister Gebran Bassil from Dar al-Fatwa: Whatever harms the prime minister simultaneously harms the tenure
- Reconciliation between “Marada” Leader, Sleiman Franjieh, and “LF” Leader, Samir Geagea
15/11
- Saudi Prosecutors: Charges against 11 arrested in Khashoggi's death
16/11
- Floods up and down Beirut streets, sewage explosion in Ramlet El Baida
17/11
- Lebanon reaps gold and silver medals at Arab Mountain Bike Championship
18/11
- Writer and theatrical director Ziad Abu Absi passes away
19/11
- Arrest of Board Chairman of "Nissan", Lebanese citizen Carlos Ghosn, on suspicion of misconduct
- Beirut MPs provide information to determine responsibilities in Ramlet al-Baida sewage explosion
- Minister Gebran Bassil meets six Sunni MPs
20/11
- Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi meets Pope Francis
21/11
- British Embassy: Additional £ 5 million for UNICEF in support of non-official education program in Lebanon
- Sheikh Naim Qassem: Independent Sunnis can not be marginalized in formation of new government
22/11
- Floods trap citizens in Nabatieh and Zahrani
23/11
- 14 Palestinians wounded by Israeli occupation forces in clashes near Gaza border
- 4 dead, 20 wounded in road accident on Ablah-Niha highway
24/11
- PSP Leader Walid Jumblatt: “The settlement is necessary, no matter how bitter, to avoid collapse."
25/11
- Belgian House Speaker in Beirut
26/11
- Enemy mock raids over Nabatieh and Iqlim al-Tuffah
27/11
- Minister of Foreign Affairs at Ein al-Teeneh: No government can be formed by imposition or rejection, solution must be fair
- Confiscation of first generator after owner violated decisions of Ministry of Economy
28/11
- Saudi Arabia provides $50 million to UNRWA in support of Palestinian refugees
- Chouf Cedar Reserve placed on Green List by International Union for Conservation of Nature
29/11
- Lebanon wins bronze medal at Arab Mathematics Olympiad in Jeddah
30/11
- Army: House raided in Baalbek’s Sherwaneh, wanted man and members of armed gang killed
- G20 summit takes place in Argentina
DECEMBER 2018
1/12
- Young men assault vacant army checkpoint in Baalbek’s Sherwaneh, Al-Jaafar clan denounces assault
- Proponents of Weam Wahhab block Aley-Bekaa highway with burning tires
- Security forces: Information Division heads to arrest Wahhab as per Public Prosecutor's Office decision
One of Wahhab’s companions shot by supporters
2/12
- Torching tires in number of areas in solidarity with PM Saad Hariri, Information Branch
- Demonstrations of yellow jackets in France
3/2
- Lebanese University receives institutional accreditation from Supreme Council for Evaluation of French Research and Higher Education
4/12
- Israeli army announces monitoring Hezbollah tunnels, warns of any offensive from Lebanese territory
- Lebanese Army: Situation along Lebanese side of southern border calm and stable, yet under close supervision and full readiness to face any state of emergency
- Free Patriotic Movement delegation in Clemenceau
- Governor of Lebanese Central Bank after meeting with Minister of Finance: financial situation is stable
- Khalil confirms regularity of paying wages, rules out shaky situation
5/12
- Enemy launches balloon with cameras from one of its locations in locality of Kroum al-Sharaqi
6/12
- 39 gold medals for Najah club - Beirut, in Doha swimming championship
- PM Saad Hariri meets with Minister of Foreign Affairs at Central house
- Lebanon lodges complaint against repeated Israeli violations of Resolution 1701
7/12
- Minister Salim Jreissati: Critics of President’s message unwilling to form government, House of Parliament primarily concerned with designation and confidence vote
8/12
- UNIFIL Spokesperson: “Israeli army told UNIFIL that it had found another tunnel”
9/12
- 20 Israeli enemy soldiers deploy in Mays al-Jabal
- Total of 1,723 people arrested during yellow jackets’ protests in France
- Poet and philosopher Maurice Awad passes away
- Gulf Summit kicks off
10/12
- Speaker Nabih Berri visits Presidential Palace
- Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visits Baabda
- 12 injured in road accident on Qalamoun highway
- Interior Minister reveals foiling terrorist scheme to disrupt parliamentary elections
11/12
- Austrian President visits Baabda Palace
- President Michel Aoun meets Hezbollah delegation
- President of the Republic in wake of tunnel claims announces being informed by US administration that Israel will not carry out aggression against Lebanon
12/12
- President of the Republic meets with consultative gathering MPs
- Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds meetings on sidelines of London Forum: All cabinet formation proposals are good
13/12
- Noha al-Khatib passes away
- Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri from London: Government to be formed soon, economic stability more important than any political agenda
14/12
- Sabaa Party protesters close entrances of ministries of Labor, Social Affairs, and Industry
- Jihad Samad: We do not accept the appointment of any other than the six independent Sunni MPs
- Tremor felt by residents of Tripoli and Zagharta
15/12
- Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Walid Bukhari participates for first time in church Christmas celebrations
16/12
- Protests in Beirut against corruption
- Clashes, air raids in western Yemen after UN truce
- Syrian-Sudanese summit in Damascus with emphasis on respect for sovereignty of states
17/12
- Minister of Health refers 7 companies to Public Prosecution’s Office over distribution of Rhodamine B l, which is prohibited in food industry
- UNIFIL: South Lebanon tunnels is matter of concern, investigations underway
18/12
- Meeting between General Director of General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, and Consultative Gathering MPs to end government representation polemic
19/12
- Meeting between Minister Gebran Bassil and General Director of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim
- Bassil visits Hariri: We hope government will be formed within next two days
- Speaker Nabih Berri: Confidence session will take place after January 6
- US president decides to withdraw forces from Syria
- Claudine Aoun Roukoz assumes presidency of Supreme Council of Arab Women Organization
- Lebanese Mission to UN Security Council lodges complaint against daily Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
20/12
- UNIFIL informs Lebanese army of Israel’s intention to destroy tunnels
21/12
- Opening of first chocolate museum in Lebanon and Middle East in Verdun
- MP Faisal Karami: We are committed to President Aoun’s initiative, Jawad Adra could aptly represent Consultative Gathering in government
22/12
- Consultative Gathering withdraws nomination of Jawad Adra to represent it in cabinet
23/12
- Protests up and down Beirut against dire economic situation, riots affect Hamra and Bechara Al-Khoury
25/12
- President Aoun after closed meeting with Rahi: Some have been crafting new traditions that we’re not accustomed to in cabinet formation
- Enemy warplanes carry out mock raids in south Lebanon
26/12
- House Speaker Nabih Berri: Civil state is the only solution
27/12
- UAE News Agency announces opening of UAE embassy in Damascus
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