Obama told me so: 11/05/14

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Lebanon's Arabic press digest – Nov. 6, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Liwaa

Future mulling Nasrallah’s call for dialogue: Hajjar

Future Movement MP Mohammad Hajjar said his party is studying Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s call for dialogue.

Hajjar said Future Movement leader Saad Hariri in his recent initiative has also called for national consultations on the presidential election issue.

“If this is what Nasrallah’s call [for dialogue] meant, then this corresponds with what we have said,” Hajjar told Al-Liwaa. “But if the issue goes beyond that, then this is another issue that requires explanation.”

Meanwhile, Economy Minister Alain Hakim told Al-Liwaa that the Kataeb Party will not sign the agreement on Parliament’s extension.

Al-Joumhouria

Aoun, Geagea sources exchange criticism over extension

High-ranking Free Patriotic Movement sources said Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea’s comments, following the approval of Parliament’s extension, were surprising.

"If Geagea feels he made a mistake, he should not take out his frustration on us,” one the source told Al-Joumhouria. “As usual, he [Geagea] commits a crime and accuses others of it.”

In turn, prominent Lebanese Forces sources said the problem with Gen. Michel Aoun is still the same since 1988: either we succumb to his presidential ambitions or he burns the country.

The sources pointed to the “liberation war," which devastated east Beirut all the way to the "elimination war," which they said Aoun has waged in retaliation for his non-election.

They recalled that upon his return from exile, Aoun changed all his principles, forming an alliance with Hezbollah and the Syrian regime in response to the March 14 coalition, which refused to yield to his conditions.

Chevron Spends Big, And Loses Big, In A City Council Race

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Chevron Corp. supported several candidates in Richmond, Calif., where the company has been hoping to modernize a large oil refinery, seen here in 2010. None of the Chevron-backed candidates were elected. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Paul Sakuma/AP

Paul Sakuma/AP

Tuesday's elections weren't just bad news for Democrats. Oil giant Chevron Corp. got clobbered in a hot local election in Richmond, Calif., that was widely seen as a referendum on the company itself.

The San Francisco Bay Area community of 107,000 people attracted national attention to its race for city council. Richmond is home to one of Chevron's two West Coast refineries. The city has long been known as a company town: Chevron is Richmond's largest employer and taxpayer.

But for the past six years, progressives and their allies have controlled the city council, often tangling with the Fortune 500 company over greenhouse gas emissions, especially after a spectacular refinery fire two years ago.

Chevron had hoped to reverse that dynamic by supporting a slate of candidates who are sympathetic to the company's plans for modernizing its refinery. It spent about $3 million to support them, issuing an avalanche of glossy mailers and buying virtually every billboard in town.

In contrast, the slate of under-funded progressive candidates led by City Councilman Tom Butt spent only a tiny fraction of that amount on its massive door-to-door campaign.

Early returns indicated the progressives' grass roots strategy would be successful. By the end of election night, Butt had captured the mayor's race with more than 51 percent of the votes cast, and the Chevron-backed candidate, City Councilman Nat Bates, garnered just over 35 percent.

As a distraught Bates told the Richmond Confidential, "It's a bloodbath, obviously. I think the citizens will suffer."

Butt, who had accused Chevron of trying to buy the Richmond Council election, was ecstatic over his David versus Goliath victory.

"To take on a campaign that's funded with $3 million and our modest campaign budget was about $50,000," he said, "but we had a lot of grassroots help and we pulled it off."

The progressives also won three full-term city council seats, with out-going Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, incumbent Jovanka Beckles, and challenger Eduardo Martinez beating a slate of Chevron-backed candidates. Another incumbent who often sides with the progressives, Jael Myrick, also won a two-year seat.

Chevron said it will try to find common ground with the newly-elected city council.

"This city, which we have proudly called home for more than a century, has far more opportunities than challenges," said a spokesman. "The council should remain focused on all those opportunities, and Chevron will remain focused on all those opportunities, and Chevron will continue to work to create economic opportunities for all residents."

The outcome will likely energize progressives in and around Richmond, a much-maligned city that recently has made strides in re-casting its former image as a poor and crime-ridden community. Relatively modest home prices have attracted a generation of younger residents who are demanding better schools, safer streets, and cleaner air.

University of San Francisco political scientist Corey Cook says the Richmond City Council race proves that money doesn't always win elections.

"You can throw big money on a 'no' campaign. Voters are inclined to vote no. But Richmonders knew who the candidates were and liked them. It appears the Chevron money itself became an issue in the race, " he said.

Email from President Obama: "Here's what's next"

Earlier today, President Obama sent this message to the White House email list about what's next for his Administration. Didn't get it? Make sure you sign up for email updates here.

Yesterday, millions of Americans cast their ballots. Republicans had a good night, and I congratulate all the candidates who won.

But what stands out to me is that the message Americans sent yesterday is one you've sent for several elections in a row now. You expect the people you elect to work as hard as you do. You expect us to focus on your ambitions -- not ours -- and you want us to get the job done. Period.

I plan on spending every moment of the next two years rolling up my sleeves and working as hard as I can for the American people. This country has made real and undeniable progress in the six years since the 2008 economic crisis. But our work will not be done until every single American feels the gains of a growing economy where it matters most: in your own lives.

While I'm sure we'll continue to disagree on some issues that we're passionate about, I'm eager to work with Congress over the next two years to get the job done. The challenges that lay ahead of us are far too important to allow partisanship or ideology to prevent our progress as a nation.

As we make progress, I'll need your help, too. Over the weeks and months ahead, I'll be looking to Americans like you, asking you to stay engaged.

I am optimistic about our future. Because for all the maps plastered across our screens today, for all the cynics who say otherwise, we are more than a simple collection of red and blue states. We are the United States.

And yesterday, millions of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans, women and men, young and old, black and white -- took the time out of their day to perform a simple, profound act of citizenship. That's something we shouldn't forget amid the din of political commentary. Because making progress starts with showing up.

Let's get to work.

President Barack Obama

Fighting Ebola: 5 Things You Need to Know About Emergency Funding to Combat the Disease

The current Ebola epidemic plaguing West Africa is the deadliest Ebola outbreak in human history.

Since the first cases were reported in March, the U.S. has mounted a large-scale and comprehensive effort to protect the American people here at home while fighting the disease at its source.

Today, the Administration asked Congress to help bolster America’s resources in the fight against Ebola by providing $6.18 billion toward our whole-of-government efforts. The emergency funds will help ensure that we meet both immediate and long-term needs, and that there are resources available to meet the evolving nature of the epidemic.

Here's what you need to know about this request and our response to Ebola:

1. What exactly will the funding be used for?

President Obama: "It's Time for Us to Take Care of Business"

Watch on YouTube

Earlier this afternoon, President Obama addressed the White House press corps to discuss the midterm elections and his next steps forward.

"What stands out to me," he said, "is that the American people sent a message, one that they’ve sent for several elections now. They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do. They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done."

Door open for dialogue after extension

BEIRUT: Lebanon settled a months-old debate Wednesday when Parliament extended its term for more than two years, paving the way for possible dialogue between March 8 and March 14 rivals over the presidential issue.

Out of 127 MPs, some 97 lawmakers turned up for the session, with 95 voting in favor of the draft law proposing the second extension, including rivals from the Future Movement and Hezbollah.

Only MPs Hagop Pakradounian and Arthur Nazarian, from the Tashnag Party, expressed their opposition to the bill, which extended the legislature’s term by two years and seven months.

The vote was boycotted by Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc and the Kataeb Party. Despite previously expressing their opposition to the extension, the Lebanese Forces ended up voting in favor of the law, thus giving legitimacy to the extension by a major Christian group.

Along with the first extension in May 2013, MPs elected in 2009 have now given themselves a second full four-year term without any elections.

Blocs backing the extension argued that it was the only option available to avoid throwing Parliament into a vacuum so long as holding elections, which were scheduled for Nov. 16, was not possible for logistical and security reasons.

The extension, which came days after Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah offered to cooperate with the Future Movement to protect Lebanon from mounting security threats linked to regional turmoil, could open the door for talks between both groups aimed at ending more than five months of presidential vacuum.

It also comes after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri voiced readiness to cooperate with all parties, including Hezbollah, to end the country’s political crisis.

The extension law included a provisional clause stating that “once a president is elected, a new election law is passed and the extraordinary circumstances are over, the extended period will be shortened and parliamentary elections held.”

The bill will be published in the Official Gazette within five days, after which it will go into effect.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on a seven-member committee representing various groups to meet on Nov. 17 in a bid to agree on a new election law.

Speaking during the session, Berri said the committee would have a one-month period to agree on a new voting system.

“If no agreement is reached, we will come to Parliament and vote on all electoral laws [referred to Parliament],” Berri said.

At the beginning of the session, MPs Butros Harb and Antoine Zahra called for the immediate election of a president, since the elusive quorum was secured during the session.

“We’re having a legislative session right now,” Berri answered.

“[But] I don’t mind that after I close the session, we turn it into one for electing a president, if the quorum is maintained.” However, lawmakers dispersed immediately after the extension vote.

During the session, which lasted for over an hour, lawmakers approved seven other draft laws, one of which allowed the government to issue eurobonds to finance state expenditures.

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, a member of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, slammed the extension session as a “holdup of Parliament.”

“The danger of this issue lies in the fact that it could happen again ... It is a complete takeover operation carried out by a group that has a majority in Parliament,” Bassil said at a news conference held at Aoun’s Rabieh residence.

The FPM argues that the security situation is not severe enough to constitute a valid excuse for the extension.

Bassil also lashed out at the Lebanese Forces, saying the party had once more breached the unanimous stance of Christian parties by supporting the extension. He added that all options were on the table in response to the development, including getting ministers loyal to Aoun to refuse to sign the extension law.

Hitting back, LF leader Samir Geagea said Aoun’s bloc was entirely to blame for the extension. “The first mistake [by the FPM] was that it blocked presidential polls from being held for five consecutive months ... and its second mistake was in colluding with other Cabinet parties to block parliamentary elections,” Geagea told a news conference at his residence in Maarab.

Geagea said Aoun’s aim was to undermine all Constitutional institutions as a prelude to holding a conference to reshape the Lebanese political system. “Between extension and elections, we support elections, but between extension and undermining the state and heading to the unknown, we back extension,” he added.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale expressed regret over the extension, according to a statement from his office.

Hale, who visited Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian, called on Parliament to elect a president as soon as possible, in accordance with the Constitution and the National Pact, and urged Lebanese leaders to hold parliamentary elections as soon as possible.

EU Ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst described Wednesday as “a sad day in Lebanon’s constitutional history.”

Dozens of civil society activists gathered in Downtown Beirut to denounce the draft law, trying to prevent lawmakers from reaching Parliament and throwing eggs and tomatoes at their convoys.

“Your extension is occupation [of Parliament],” read a banner held by one protester. “No to extension.”

France to send military gear to Lebanon from early 2015

PARIS: France will start delivering military equipment to the Lebanese Army in the first quarter of 2015 as part of a $3 billion contract to help the force fight jihadists from neighboring Syria, a French defense ministry source said Wednesday.

Lebanon, whose sectarian divisions have been exacerbated by the war over the border, has said it needs more resources and better hardware to deal with the instability and encroaching fighters.

The contract has been funded by Saudi Arabia, which is keen to beef up Lebanon’s ability to counter what it sees as threats to the region from both hard-line Sunni groups and Lebanon’s own Hezbollah.

The deal will involve about 20 French companies and cover a mix of land, sea and air equipment, including armored vehicles, heavy artillery, anti-tank missiles, mortars and assault weapons, the source said.

“We are aiming to start delivery from the first quarter of 2015, then every six months, until the delivery of helicopters,” over a total period of 36 months, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Intelligence and surveillance material, including drones, would also be sent and Paris would provide lightly armed armed patrol boats as well as combat and transport helicopters, the source told Reuters.

“Beyond the technical training for the equipment, France also agreed to provide operational training, which will mean that the contract won’t end after the final delivery and will last 10 years,” the source added, declining to say how many French military advisers would stay on.

Lebanon, a former French colony, fears Islamist insurgents from the Syrian war are trying to expand their influence into Sunni Muslim areas in its north.

Government officials see a rising threat from Sunni groups such as Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front and the ultra hard-line ISIS, saying they may try to open up new supply routes between Syria and Lebanon as winter unfolds.

French and Lebanese officials had previously said Riyadh had been concerned that some of the weapons could fall into Hezbollah’s hands, a factor that may have delayed the deal, which was originally agreed in principle last December.

“We’ll be there for 10 years. I don’t see how Hezbollah is going to drive away with a Caesar tank if we are around,” the source said. “The fact we’ll be on the ground is a sort of insurance for our client and partners.”

How Did Berkeley Pass A Soda Tax? Bloomberg's Cash Didn't Hurt

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Berkeley's efforts to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks faced opposition with deep pockets — but it also got sizable cash infusions from some big-name donors. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Berkeley's efforts to pass a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks faced opposition with deep pockets — but it also got sizable cash infusions from some big-name donors.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It's no secret that the American Beverage Association spent a lot of money to defeat soda tax initiatives in California this election season.

As local media reported, ABA ads blanketed a Berkeley train station in the weeks leading up to Election Day. They were "plastered on the walls across from the trains, pinned to spaces near the ticket machine, and laid out on the floor of the station," according to Berkeleyside.com.

So the grass-roots coalition in Berkeley, Calif., that succeeded in getting 75 percent of voters to support the first-of-its-kind soda tax in the nation is celebrating.

"It was a thrilling campaign, and I think it will be the first of many," Larry Tramutola, a consultant to the coalition, said during a post-election debrief Wednesday.

The measure imposes a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened beverages. The coalition says it studied how the American Beverage Association worked to defeat a similar sugar-sweetened-beverage tax initiative in Richmond, Calif., in 2012.

"Knowing the opposition, and knowing what they were likely to do, was important," Tramutola says.

One thing that most likely helped the Berkeley coalition succeed: sizable infusions of cash.

The American Heart Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest put their support behind the effort. And perhaps the most notable donor: Michael Bloomberg — who, during his tenure as the mayor of New York City, pushed for limits on big, sugary drinks — stepped in during the final weeks of this election season with donations. Reports suggest Bloomberg gave $370,000 during the course of the campaign.

The Bloomberg cash infusions helped pay for television ads that ran on local, San Francisco-area broadcasts during the World Series.

During a conference call Wednesday, Howard Wolfson, senior adviser to Michael Bloomberg, said, "Last night was a huge defeat for Big Soda and a big victory for public health. The results will surely encourage other municipalities across the nation to pursue similar initiatives to fight obesity and diabetes."

Wolfson also indicated that Bloomberg may be willing to support organizers in other towns or municipalities that want to rally behind a soda tax in their communities. "We look for a strong, locally led effort," Wolfson explains.

He says the movement can't be led from the top down; it's got to be bottom up. So, he says, "we stand ready to assess and assist other local efforts in the coming election cycle."

Following its defeat in the Berkeley soda tax battle, the American Beverage Association released a statement on its website saying, "People don't support taxes and bans on common grocery items, like soft drinks."

And the ABA says the debate should move on from taxes and bans "onto real solutions." Leading beverage companies, the ABA says, have "set a goal to reduce beverage calories consumed per person by 20 percent by 2025."

Sen. John Thune: Majority Gives GOP A Chance To Take On Obamacare

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Melissa Block talks with Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota about his party's plan now that they've won the Senate.

Parliament extension will not hasten presidential vote

BEIRUT: The extension of Parliament’s mandate will not help accelerate the election of a new president, an issue that largely depends on a Saudi-Iranian consensus which seems to be far-fetched, given renewed tensions between the two regional heavyweights, political analysts said Wednesday.

They also predicted a prolonged deadlock as long as Riyadh and Tehran remained at loggerheads over a host of regional conflicts, namely in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said the extension of Parliament’s term for two years and seven months would not spur a major change in the complicated political landscape or help break the 5-month-old presidential stalemate.

“After the Parliament extension, I don’t think we are heading for the election of a new president because this requires a regional consensus, mainly between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” Khashan told The Daily Star. “The next move is for the rival factions to continue to talk about the election of a new president.”

He added that the presidential vote also depended on the warring factions in both Syria and Iraq, ravaged by sectarian violence, reaching a peace settlement.

Khashan noted that since Lebanon’s independence from France in 1943, Parliament has never elected a president but endorsed him as a result of a regional agreement. “The Lebanese Parliament has never elected a president. It only rubber stamps a president following a regional agreement on him,” he said.

Sami Nader, a professor of economics and international relations at Universite St. Joseph, echoed a similar view, saying the extension of Parliament’s mandate would not hasten the election of a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended on May 25.

“The extension, the second time in more than a year, is a blow to democratic practice and constitutional principles,” Nader told The Daily Star. “Following today’s move, the country is taking a downhill slide with regard to the Constitution and institutions.”

Nader, also the director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs (LISA), a Beirut-based think-tank, stressed that a Parliament that had failed to agree on a new electoral law last year and elect a new president in the past six months does not deserve to have its mandate extended.

“With the new extension, Parliament was seeking to consecrate and legitimize its failure,” Nader said.

Referring to the two extensions of Parliament’s mandate, he said: “This is the only achievement they [lawmakers] are capable of.”

Amid protests by civil groups and political activists who rallied in Downtown Beirut early in the morning to denounce the extension, Parliament voted Wednesday to extend its mandate, which expires on Nov. 20, until 2017, citing security concerns linked to the war in Syria.

Ninety-five out of 97 MPs present voted for the extension bill, while two opposed. The vote was boycotted by MP Michel Aoun’s bloc and the Kataeb Party lawmakers.

In what appeared to be a conciliatory gesture to placate critics of the vote, the extension law was coupled with a provisional clause promising a parliamentary vote after the election of a president, in which case Parliament’s term would be shortened.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, who has blasted the MPs for failing to choose a president, dismissed the extension of Parliament’s term as “illegitimate and unconstitutional.”

Because Saudi Arabia and Iran back opposing sides in Lebanon, Khashan predicted a prolonged presidential impasse. Saudi Arabia backs the Future Movement-led March 14 coalition, while Iran supports the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance.

“The regional environment is not conducive to the election of a new president,” Khashan said. “Therefore, the presidential deadlock will persist. The Lebanese have put themselves in a situation where they depend on foreign powers to resolve their domestic problems.”

Khashan scoffed at the idea that Lebanon’s democracy was dealt a blow with the extension of Parliament’s mandate. “Lebanon is not a democracy. It is an accommodationist political system,” he said.

Nader, the USJ professor, said a Saudi-Iranian deal held the key to resolving Lebanon’s prolonged political crisis.

“The country, which is taking a downward slide, can only be saved through an Iranian-Saudi deal. Unfortunately, this deal does not seem to be on the horizon,” he said.

Nader rejected the argument held by some parliamentary blocs which voted for the extension of Parliament’s term that the move was essential to avert a new vacuum in the legislative branch of power after the vacuum in the presidency.

“I can’t say this [extension] is justifiable. It is not constitutional or acceptable,” he said. He added that had the lawmakers elected a new president, there would have been no need to extend Parliament’s term.

Shafik Masri, a professor of international law at the Lebanese University and the American University of Beirut, concurred that a Saudi-Iranian détente was key to defusing the Lebanese political crisis and speeding up the election of a president.

But he said the internal crisis in Yemen, namely the Houthi rebels who swept into Sanaa in September, has complicated attempts to achieve a Saudi-Iranian reconciliation.

“Following the extension of its mandate, Parliament now has two urgent issues: to amend an electoral law and elect a president. However, the election of a president is more linked to regional developments, especially a Saudi-Iranian consensus, than local factors,” Masri told The Daily Star. “The extension has provided Parliament with a new chance to agree on a new electoral law.”

Though Parliament got a new mandate to elect a president, he said: “In the absence of a Saudi-Iranian consensus, the presidential election will be placed on the back burner.”

Asked to assess where Lebanon was heading following the extension of Parliament’s term, Masri said: “The country has a functioning government and its Parliament can now legislate after its mandate has been extended. The Army has been granted carte blanche to crush the sleeper and active terror cells. Yet, Lebanon is waiting for propitious regional circumstances to allow the election of a president.”

He said regional and international factors had always influenced positively or negatively the presidential election process in Lebanon. “Therefore, the presidential vote has never been throughout Lebanon’s history a purely local issue,” he said.

A long-awaited rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran is seen as a key factor in defusing sectarian tensions and long-simmering conflicts in the region, particularly in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain.

Signs of a thaw in strained Saudi-Iranian ties emerged in September when Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “This is a new page in relations between the two countries,” Zarif said.

Prince Saud has said Iran is a neighboring state that can contribute to stability in the region. But the fast-moving developments in Yemen have apparently stalled Saudi-Iranian reconciliation attempts.

Winners and losers in Parliament’s second extension

In Parliament’s second extension, many have won something but lost something else. The lawmakers are the biggest winners, because they have extended their mandate a second time, this time by two years and seven months.

If no presidential election takes place between now and the end of this new term, lawmakers will have enjoyed two full-length mandates.

On the political level, MP Michel Aoun may have grown in popularity, because people in the country’s Christian regions generally back his view that parliamentary elections should be held, according to Christian parliamentary sources.

But Aoun has also lost out, because Parliament didn’t listen to his advice about not extending its term. He is now torn over whether to challenge the extension before the Constitutional Council. If he does, the council will likely not convene, which is what happened when he challenged the first extension, but if he doesn’t challenge it, he could seem weak.

The Lebanese Forces’ popularity has likely taken a small dive, given that the party changed its stance at the last minute, making it one of only two Christian parties to vote for the extension, despite Patriarch Beshara Rai announcing from Australia that the decision was unconstitutional and illegal. Politically, however, they could be seen to have reached a good place, and can now claim that they saved the country from a political vacuum.

As for the lawmakers of the Kataeb party, they lost a little by not voting for the extension, especially given that the extension could help facilitate the election of a president.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement both came out on top, as the extension allows them to maintain the number of seats they hold in Parliament and avoid a power vacuum.

The Future Movement also maintained its parliamentary seats, and made political gains by demonstrating that it was able to impose its stance on others, when it announced that it would boycott parliamentary elections, prompting Speaker Nabih Berri to push forward with an extension.

Some believe that elections could have taken two or three parliamentary seats away from the Future Movement.

MP Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, neither gained nor lost anything in the extension process.

In general, the extension of Parliament has fueled fears that the presidential election will be further delayed, because the stability of the legislative and executive branches has been secured, thus temporarily removing the urgency of filling the highest Christian post.

This has contributed to a sense that, at a sectarian level, Christians have lost out as a result of the extension.

Meanwhile, the Sunnis are seen to have won, as a result of the extended term of the prime minister, and the Shiites as a result of the increased role the legislative branch now plays in the stability of the country.

Attempts to protest against the move failed. The few demonstrations were limited to throwing eggs and tomatoes at some members of Parliament.

One practical result of the second extension is Berri’s call for the committee designated to study a new electoral law to convene, according to a number of lawmakers.

A by-election in the district of Jezzine must also now be held to choose someone to take Change and Reform MP Michel Helou’s place, after he died in June.

According to the Lebanese constitution, no by-election needed to be held at the time because there were supposed to be parliamentary elections within six months, but now that there has been an extension, that is void.

And the government cannot possibly say the security situation prevents it from holding this by-election, according to several lawmakers, given that it will take place in a district that is away from any of the country’s hot spots.

This second extension has not changed any political alliances, although differences of opinion within political factions were revealed, these same lawmakers say.

Within March 8, for example, the Marada bloc of MP Suleiman Frangieh disagreed with Aoun’s party and voted for the extension, while the Tashnag bloc attended but did not vote.

The Free Patriotic Movement did not turn up at all, in contrast with most of the rest of March 8.

However, this difference in opinions will not affect the wider political coalition, as was shown by Frangieh’s announcement after the session that he was not a candidate for presidency and that he still supported Aoun.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also announced during his Ashoura speech that Aoun was his party’s candidate of choice. Hence, March 8 remains united on the presidential issue.

USAID donates over $40M to improve public schools

BEIRUT: The U.S. Agency for International Development launched Wednesday a $41.2 million education program for public schools in Lebanon in an attempt to redress the imbalance between private and state education in the country.

Currently only a third of students attend public schools, where the quality of education is often lower than that at private schools, and USAID’s Improved Basic Education Services Program, run in association with the Education Ministry, has been designed to help change that.

“These initiatives are a testament to our joint belief in education, our cooperative and enduring relationship, and the resilience of your commitment to education in the face of political, economic and security challenges,” U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale said during the launching ceremony at Kesrouan’s Daroun Mixed Intermediate Public School. The event was attended by Education Minister Elias Bou Saab.

The program focuses on three main components: improving reading skills, expanding access to education among vulnerable populations, and improving education monitoring and management, said the U.S. Embassy’s press officer Geraldine Gassam.

With regard to reading skills, Bret Saalwaechter, the director for Education, Democracy Rights and Governance at USAID, said the program would include a diagnostic survey to establish each student’s reading proficiency. Students will also be assessed on their ability to recognize phonetics and associate meaning to given texts.

Gathering this information would allow USAID and the Education Ministry to create relevant training modules for teachers, and also tailor interactive reading games and determine the appropriate reading materials for students, he said.

Saalwaechter added that, outside the classroom, the program aims to instill a culture of reading in local communities which would include awareness campaigns targeting parents to get them to encourage their kids to read.

“Lebanese children will excel even more when they are better prepared with basics, like reading, when they see their school as a sanctuary for learning, and when their communities actively participate in the process,” Hale said.

The program comes as Lebanon struggles to deal with the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees, roughly half of whom are under 18. Lebanon’s public school system previously catered to about 300,000 children, and around 350,000 Syrian kids are still out of school despite various educational initiatives and second teaching shifts after normal class hours are over.

“Public schools are undergoing stress, class sizes have doubled and the student body is not remotely what it was two years ago,” Saalwaechter said.

As a result, the program is looking to expand seating so that “no two students have to fight over a desk,” Saalwaechter added. The program will also offer coaching and training to help teachers manage new, larger groups to ensure that classes remains energetic and inclusive, he said.

According to Saalwaechter, the program’s assistance, which is directly linked to the Education Ministry’s “Reaching All Children with Education” development plan, will help the ministry collect data on what is happening and what is being taught in public schools.

The joint initiative will also seek to outline educational principles to inform the ministry’s future decisions in the public school sector.

Saalwaechter said the initiative would benefit roughly 200 public schools in Lebanon. Reading improvement services would be available to all public schools, he added, but assistance with regard to immediate logistical needs would be confined to about 75 schools determined by the ministry.

“I can tell you, you don’t have to live long among the Lebanese to understand the value that the Lebanese people attach to [getting] the very best education,” the U.S. ambassador concluded.

USAID donates over $40M to improve public schools

“Public schools are undergoing stress, class sizes have doubled and the student body is not remotely what it was two years ago,” Saalwaechter said.

The joint initiative will also seek to outline educational principles to inform the ministry’s future decisions in the public school sector.

“I can tell you, you don’t have to live long among the Lebanese to understand the value that the Lebanese people attach to [getting] the very best education,” the U.S. ambassador concluded.

AUB ranked fifth best university in the Middle East

BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut ranked first in the Arab region for social sciences, second in medicine programs, and came in fifth overall, in a ranking that featured 91 higher education institutions from 16 countries.

The evaluation was made by US News & World Report, a U.S.-based media company known for its influential university rankings, in its inaugural ranking of Best Arab Region Universities, AUB said in a statement Wednesday.

The rankings put AUB first among Lebanon’s universities.

“AUB fared extremely well in the US News & World Report rankings, given that we were evaluated against universities five to 10 times our size, and against graduate universities that exist solely to conduct and publish research,” President Peter Dorman said.

The US News & World Report’s Best Arab Region Universities’ rankings are determined solely on the cumulative volume of research in the past five years, during which publications in fields including science, technology, medicine, social science and the arts and humanities are examined.

The rankings focus specifically on institutions’ academic research output and performance, not on individual graduate or undergraduate academic programs, the statement said.

Of the region’s 800 universities, only 91 were included in the 2014 ranking. To be eligible for the ranking, Arab region universities had to have an average of 80 papers per year between 2009 and 2013.

AUB’s immunology and microbiology programs were ranked fourth in the region, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology were ranked sixth, environmental science was ranked eighth, and energy programs ranked 10th, the statement added.

“University rankings are critical as a means for communicating the nature and quality of education and research, both to prospective students and faculty, and to scholars and institutions worldwide that seek to collaborate with AUB,” Dorman said.

Saudi Arabia’s King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology claimed the top three spots in the overall rankings respectively, followed in fourth place by Egypt’s Cairo University.

South Lebanon woman gives birth to quintuplets

TYRE, Lebanon: A 24-year-old woman has given birth to quintuplets at a hospital in the south Lebanon city of Tyre.

Aya Hamad and the five newborns – three girls and two boys – “are in good health,” Dr. Kamel Yassin, the director of the Jabal Amel Hospital in Tyre, told The Daily Star.

Yassin said the quintuplets, born prematurely in the seventh month and weighing between 1 and 1.3 kg, were in “stable, good condition.”

Aya, who already has a 2-year-old son from her husband Hussein Fawwaz, said she named the children Zeinab, Zahraa, Fatima, Ali and Hasan. “I’m very, very happy to have my babies delivered on the 10th day of Muharram [Ashoura],” she told The Daily Star. “I have a complete family now.”

But Aya, whose husband is a farmer from Tyre, said she would have to turn the living area into a bedroom to accommodatethe newborns since they live in a small house.

The mother said she had been expecting four children, but the fifth one came as surprise, discovered in an ultrasound a couple days earlier.

Dr. Riad Gharib, who oversaw the delivery, said Aya – who had been suffering from infertility – was receiving treatment for the past two years until she got pregnant naturally, without impregnation.

Aya called on the government to provide her with the essentials to help her raise the five children.

Sen. Joe Manchin: In Midterms, 'We Lost The Middle ... The Moderates'

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Robert Siegel speaks with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia about the election results in his state.

Reince Priebus: Republican Wins The Result Of Americans Making A Statement

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Robert Siegel talks with Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus about the GOP's big election night win and what it means for the Republican agenda.

Business Leaders Hope Shifts In Congress Will Bring Tax Reform

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Many business groups see an opportunity in the outcome of the election and plan to revive an agenda that's been dormant for years. From energy and trade to taxes and regulation, there is a lot on the table, but no guarantee anything will be passed anytime soon.

Climate Change Activists Come Up Short In Midterm Elections

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

Tom Steyer, the hedge-fund billionaire, spent tens of millions of dollars in the midterms, mostly in seven senate and gubernatorial races. Most of his candidates lost, as will — presumably —one of his Steyer's key ambitions: major action on climate change.

Midterm Elections May Have Had Record Low Turnout

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

A look at the turnout numbers for the midterm elections.

What Will Congress Do With A Republican Majority?

Audio for this story from All Things Considered will be available at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET.

President Obama is facing the last two years of his presidency with a Republican Senate. What does that mean his policies, his approach and the prospects for getting anything done?

'Daily Show,' 'Colbert' Find Little To Joke About On Election Night

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Jon Stewart, left, and Stephen Colbert hosted live editions of their programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Tuesday. Comedy Central hide caption

itoggle caption Comedy Central

Jon Stewart, left, and Stephen Colbert hosted live editions of their programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Tuesday.

Jon Stewart, left, and Stephen Colbert hosted live editions of their programs The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Tuesday.

Comedy Central

Jon Stewart may be the only media figure who started his election coverage Tuesday with an apology.

"I did vote today ... I was being flip and it kind of took off," said Stewart, who had told CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour in an interview earlier Tuesday that he wasn't voting because he "had just moved, and I don't even know where my thing is." The comment sparked loads of stories about how the comedian wasn't voting in an election he had been talking about for months.

"I want to apologize," Stewart added. "Because I think I wasn't clear enough that I was kidding and it sent a message that I didn't think voting was important or that I didn't think it was a big issue. And I do. And I did vote. And I was being flip and I shouldn't have done that. That was stupid."

Television

Jon Stewart: The Most Trusted Name In Fake News

Stephen Colbert has made a name for himself, literally, as the host of his own show. Now, he will succeed David Letterman as the host of The Late Show.

Monkey See

Stephen Colbert: The End Of One Joke, The Start Of Many More

Yes, it was that kind of night for liberals. Even a left-leaning fake news anchor had to start the night by seeking forgiveness for a screw up.

Both Stewart's Daily Show and its Comedy Central sibling, Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report, went live Tuesday to talk about the historic wins Republicans piled up in this year's midterm elections.

But the wave of red sweeping over the electoral map seemed to dampen the mood a bit at both shows, where leading Republicans like Sens. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham had been the target of barbed jokes for quite a while.

"Look, I'm trying to find any way to entertain people who are truly on a ledge tonight," Stewart joked at one point, just before promising to replace the Statue of Liberty's torch and tablet with a Bible and an AK-47 to signal the GOP's success.

The evening seemed to highlight the limits of news-tinged satire on the political scene, as HBO comic Bill Maher's public effort to oust Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline — referred to on his show Real Time as the "flip a district" campaign — also failed.

Kline, whom Maher criticized for being "invisible" while representing a district outside Minneapolis, won his seventh term in office Tuesday despite repeated criticism from the comic, who devoted a website to the effort and even visited the state for a panel discussion on the election.

On Stewart's and Colbert's shows, the reporting of election results almost seemed an afterthought — though the Daily Show had fun with some election projections, picturing McConnell as a cartoon turtle and showing an alligator gobbling up failed Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, the Republican turned Democrat.

Instead, Stewart poked fun at the influence of money — alum Rob Riggle played a stack of cash giddily celebrating the dollar's role in the most expensive midterm election in history — and interviewed Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus.

"Were you surprised that the Democrats strategy seemed to be curling in a ball and hoping you didn't kick them in the face too hard?" Stewart asked Priebus, setting the tone for the rest of the interview.

Colbert presented his last live election special before leaving Comedy Central to take over David Letterman's Late Show on CBS next year. Many of his jokes centered on the media coverage, lampooning social media-obsessed TV reports and playing multiple instances of Fox News anchor referring to the channel's election data center as its "brain room."

"Just as you suspected, Fox News keeps all their brains in one room," Colbert joked. "And it's not the one with the cameras."

Although his persona on the show is ostensibly a parody of a conservative political commentator, Colbert seemed less like his character than ever, signaling the kind of attitude viewers might see once he moves to CBS and drops the show's conceit forever.

"It's been a good night for Republicans," Colbert said, not really sympathizing with or enjoying the victory. "Some of them are even awake to celebrate it."

Colbert also welcomed conservative pundit-turned-Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan, who blamed Democrats' massive electoral losses on being "weak-kneed" about supporting the president and party policies.

"You have a president who has an excellent economic record ... [who] enacted universal health care, which is their goal for 40 years," says Sullivan. "And they ran away from that achievement and refuse to talk about it."

Colbert responded by asking, "What can we do to get more Americans to vote? Should we have those 'I voted' stickers deep fried?"

There were lots of odd events elsewhere in media coverage Tuesday, including a moment when Fox News pundit Brit Hume kept chanting the world "Redskins" as fellow pundit Juan Williams tried to talk about the controversy surrounding the name of Washington's NFL team.

Former Meet the Press host David Gregory joined fellow NBC alum Katie Couric on Yahoo's election coverage — which was held in a Washington, D.C., bar.

And CNN anchor Anderson Cooper had a novel comeback when a panel responded sluggishly to his question about marijuana legalization just before 1 a.m. Wednesday: "What, are you all stoned, or something?"

The only time Colbert got close to being serious Tuesday was when he wrapped up the show noting it was his eighth and final live election show for Comedy Central in 14 years.

"I'll just end by saying it has been a pleasure and privilege to be welcomed into your homes these last nine years," he said. "So to you and yours and I say a fond ... what's that? I have another month and a half of shows? Well, this was a little too dramatic."

Not dramatic enough to change the tone for TV's leading news satire shows, which worked hard Tuesday to slap a smiling face on a defeat that likely disappointed many fans in their audiences.

Maybe Colbert just got out while the getting was good.

Obama Discusses Democrats' Election Results

Speaking one day after his party lost control of the Senate to the Republican Party, President Obama holds a news conference scheduled for 2:50 p.m. ET.

We'll update this post with news from the president's remarks.

Update at 3:24 p.m. ET: On The Punishment Democrats Took

President Obama lists some of his administration's accomplishments, but he says he understands that Americans hold him more accountable than most for Washington's dysfunction.

Asked whether an executive action would spoil the chances of reaching a compromise with Republicans, the president said that he hadn't seen any congressional action on immigration.

"There's a cost to waiting," he adds, noting the influx of young immigrants at the U.S. southern border this summer.

He says that if Republicans want immigration reform, they now have the capacity to get it passed in Congress.

"The sooner they do it, from my perspective, the better," he says.

Update at 3:17 p.m. ET: 'Get Stuff Done'

Saying that the message of the last several elections boils down to "Get stuff done," President Obama goes on to list the problems faced by regular Americans.

On the subject of immigration, he says he wants Congress to act on comprehensive immigration reform. He goes on to say that America's policies need to allow the best and the brightest to live there.

Lauding a bipartisan bill that came out of the Senate, Obama revisits the effort to get the bill up for a vote in the House. He says that when that didn't happen, he took executive action — and that his action would be rescinded when Congress acts.

"What I'm not going to do is just wait," he says.

Update at 3:12 p.m. ET: 'A Moment For Reflection'

"I think that every election is a moment for reflection," Obama says.

He adds that he and the White House staff won't change their principles. But he later adds that if Republicans have ideas that he thinks will help Americans, he'll support it.

Update at 3:08 p.m. ET: Working With Republicans

With the first question citing a "devastating" night for Democrats, Obama responds by saying the American people believe Washington isn't attentive to their needs.

"I'm the guy who's elected by everybody," he says, explaining that the public expects the president to get the U.S. government to produce.

"In terms of agenda items," he notes that American voters endorsed some of his own policies, particularly a minimum wage increase, in ballot initiatives in Tuesday's elections.

Obama goes on to say that there will be areas where he and the Republicans don't agree — and some on which they do.

"Let's get started on those things where we agree," Obama said. "Even on those things where we don't agree 100 percent," he added, it's important to get to work on them, to build trust.

Update at 3:05 p.m. ET: Plans For Ebola And ISIS

The president lists actions he's taking — and on which he wants help from Congress. They include new funding to bolster America's fight against Ebola and new plans for attacking ISIS extremists.

Update at 3:03 p.m. ET: Areas Of Common Interest

Listing areas where the Republicans and his administration could work together, Obama lists repairing America's infrastructure and foreign trade.

He adds that both he and the GOP's leaders are interested in helping youth.

Obama also noted that "voters went 5 for 5" in voting for minimum wage increases in last night's ballot initiatives.

Update at 3 p.m. ET: 'As Productive As Possible'

Obama says he spoke to both House Speaker John Boehner and presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, telling them that he looks forward "to finishing up this Congress's business" and then working in the next Congress. He noted that he'll be meeting with congressional leaders

The president said that in Tuesday's election, "the American people sent a message," that the public expects their elected leaders to work as hard as they do.

"All of us have to give Americans more of a reason" to feel better about their lives and their futures, Obama said.

The president added that he wants the government's next years to be "as productive as possible."

Our original post continues:

The president spoke shortly after presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held his own news conference in Kentucky, where the Republican said the Senate "needs to be fixed" — and that he and his Republican colleagues are willing to work with President Obama on some issues.

Earlier Wednesday, the White House sent a letter to the Speaker of the House, requesting emergency appropriations to help the U.S. fight against the deadly Ebola outbreak that has struck three nations in West Africa.