Qaeda-linked group plans to asassinate Future MPs

Qaeda-linked group plans to asassinate Future MPs

The Al-Qaeda affiliated Khorasan group is planning to assassinate Future Movement lawmakers in an attempt to fuel...

Hariri not leaving until Cabinet crisis is resolved: report

BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not leave Beirut until the Cabinet crisis over a decision-making process is resolved, local newspaper An-Nahar reported Monday.

Citing sources close to Hariri, the daily said Hariri has decided not to return to his residence in Jeddah until the government situation gets back to normal and Cabinet meetings were resumed.

The report said Hariri has held intensive contacts with the concerned parties, seeking a Constitutional solution to the Cabinet crisis that would satisfy everyone.

The Constitution stipulates that if unanimous approval cannot be achieved, standard decisions can be passed by a simple majority, and major decisions, specified by Article 65, with the approval of two-thirds of the Cabinet’s members.

An-Nahar said Hariri will present his solution to Prime Minister Tammam Salam, who returned to Beirut Sunday after a three-day holiday in Rome.

Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas as saying that Salam is expected to discuss Monday ways to solve the Cabinet crisis with the various political parties.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the government “will remain unproductive” unless a new decision-making process has been introduced.

The government did not hold its weekly meeting Thursday, and Salam has stressed that the Cabinet will only resume its meetings after a new decision-making process can be agreed upon.

The government began exercising the powers of the presidency since May, when the post became vacant after President Michel Sleiman's term ended with lawmakers failing to elect a successor due to lack of consensus.

Since then, members of the 24-member body have insisted on the unanimous approval of decisions and decrees, significantly reducing its productivity.

Hostage negotiations move forward as Qatar resumes mediation

BEIRUT: Qatar has revived its role as mediator in negotiations to free 25 Lebanese servicemen being held by jihadi groups in Qalamoun, spurring positive developments in the long-drawn-out case, a senior security source told The Daily Star.

The source, tasked with following the issue, confirmed that the government has resumed talks with the Nusra Front primarily, and that positive signs had led to encouraging results.

The source did not elaborate on the nature of the new developments but cited the recent resumption of Qatari mediation as a factor, adding that members of the crisis cell, the government committee that follows the hostage case, had been briefed on the matter, including Prime Minister Tamam Salam.

While security sources were tight-lipped about the nature of talks, Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, an informal mediator close to the Nusra Front, told The Daily Star that an initial agreement had been reached between the government and the militant group.

Qatar had formally ended its mediation in December after the Nusra Front executed Lebanese policeman Ali Bazzal. The killing provoked outrage from the captives’ families, who complained of government passivity over the now 7-month-old hostage crisis.

The case of the captive soldiers and policemen held by both the Nusra Front and ISIS since August has since been shrouded in secrecy after the prime minister criticized media leaks by officials, saying they harmed talks. At least 37 servicemen were originally abducted by the militants during a five-day battle with the Lebanese Army. Eight hostages have since been released and four were killed.

Hujeiri said the government and the Nusra Front resumed serious negotiations earlier this month, efforts that led to “a preliminary agreement that will make way for the release of the Lebanese servicemen.”

“There is one small complication left but when that is resolved the next step would be the implementation of the deal,” Hujeiri said.

Hujeiri did not disclose the nature of the obstacle hindering the accord, but he said it would require consensus among Cabinet ministers to reach a deal.

Hujeiri also hinted that government consent over the issue might require some time, as Salam’s Cabinet is currently mulling over a new decision-making mechanism to govern amid a presidential vacuum.

Since the post became vacant last May, the Cabinet has been exercising the presidents powers under a system which requires the 24-member body to unanimously approve decisions and decrees, markedly reducing its productivity.

Clarifying the role of ISIS, the Arsal-based sheikh said mediation efforts with the group was “suspended,” and that the government was dealing primarily with Nusra.

The agreement with Nusra came after the group reportedly softened its demands for the release of the hostages. The group has controversially demanded the release of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison in return for the captive servicemen, but may have settled for those accused of minor offenses.

Hujeiri said that the government was still waiting for a complete list of names of prisoners, after receiving some names from Nusra of the inmates it wants freed in exchange for the hostages.

Hujeiri said the government has displayed a new willingness to negotiate. “It has come much closer to accepting militants’ demands than at any time in the past,” he said.

The positive turn in the talks was evidenced recently after the families of captives were permitted to visit their sons in Arsal’s outskirts earlier this month.

The captors had halted family visits for a brief spell when negotiations with the government had reached a stalemate.

Hasan Youssef, the father of captive Mohammad Youssef, received a phone call from ISIS militants authorizing him to visit his son last week, a breakthrough he believes is tied to the negotiations moving forward. “We have seen signs the negotiations are going well,” he said.

Late last month, General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, who is heading negotiation efforts, said that positive signs on the Lebanese hostage crisis had emerged recently. “It seems that there are positive signs on the part of the kidnappers to end the crisis,” Ibrahim said. “We are working on conditions and counter-conditions, and we hope we reach a happy ending.”

No Cabinet session as decisions rift widens

BEIRUT: A rift among ministers over the government’s decision-making mechanism during the 9-month-old presidential vacuum widened over the weekend, preventing a Cabinet session for this week.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, outraged by Parliament’s repeated failure to elect a president, entered the fray over the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism, warning against devising an unconstitutional mechanism of governing in a bid to replace the president’s powers.

Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri described his meeting with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri at his Ain al-Tineh residence Friday night as “excellent,” saying the two agreed that the presidential vacuum would leave “negative repercussions” on the general situation in Lebanon.

“Tackling the presidential [election] issue begins with an inter-Christian understanding on an acceptable candidate,” Berri was quoted as saying by visitors at Ain al-Tineh.

Berri, according to the visitors, said that the seventh round of talks between the Future Movement and Hezbollah would discuss the presidential election issue. “If there is a Christian understanding on a candidate, I will be the first to open the road to settling the presidential issue,” he said.

On the row over the Cabinet’s decision-making mechanism, Berri said he and Hariri agreed on the need to resort to the Constitution in any mechanism that governs the Cabinet’s work “because it is not permissible to paralyze the country and institutions.” However, he warned that if the Cabinet returned to work according to the current mechanism, “it would remain stalled with weak productivity.”

For his part, Hariri said he expected the Future Movement’s dialogue with Hezbollah to bring more stability and economic prosperity to Lebanon.

“Our dialogue with Hezbollah is to ensure the minimum components of security and political stability, in order to revitalize the economy and improve people’s living conditions,” Hariri said during a meeting with representatives of the Economic Committees at his Downtown Beirut residence Saturday.

The Cabinet did not meet last week due to differences among its 24 ministers over a decision-making mechanism.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam, backed by most ministers, is demanding a change in the current mechanism, which requires unanimous support from all 24 ministers on the Cabinet decisions. He argued that the mechanism has hindered the government’s productivity due to disagreement among ministers on decisions taken by the Cabinet.

Salam, who returned to Beirut Sunday from a visit to Rome, is expected to resume his contacts with the Cabinet’s key parties to agree on a new formula to replace the current mechanism, the sources told The Daily Star.

Some Cabinet parties are expected to tell Salam that they support a constitutional and legal formula that calls for decisions to be passed unanimously. In case consensus is hard to achieve, then draft laws are passed with a majority vote and crucial decisions must be approved by two-thirds of the ministers.

Amid the sharp divisions among ministers over amending the decision-making mechanism, Salam is unlikely to call for a Cabinet session this week, the sources said. According to the sources, Salam would seek to achieve consensus on any mechanism that could be adopted, while stressing that the current mechanism was no longer feasible because of the obstruction exercised by some ministers through it.

While Salam is adamant on changing the current mechanism, seven Christian ministers and a Muslim minister, who met at former President Michel Sleiman’s residence in Yarze last week, oppose the change, saying the Cabinet should serve in a caretaker capacity until a new president is elected.

The eight ministers included the three Kataeb ministers, three ministers loyal to Sleiman, Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb and Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon.

Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi, one of the three Kataeb ministers, warned that any change in the current decision-making mechanism would not only topple the Cabinet, but also undermine the spirit of the country’s National Pact on equal power sharing between Muslims and Christians.

He said the attitude of the ministers who had met at Sleiman’s residence was not directed against Salam. “On the contrary, they backed Salam and stood on his side against groups that are working to oust him,” Azzi told The Daily Star, without naming those groups.

“We don’t agree that the Cabinet practices the president’s functions. Hence, came the [Maronite] patriarch’s stance as well as the stances of all Christian parties [opposing a change in the mechanism].”

However, political sources said the meeting at Sleiman’s residence was a reaction to the agreement on the Cabinet’s mechanism reached between MP Michel Aoun and other political parties, namely the Future Movement, Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and MP Walid Jumblatt. If adopted, the mechanism would marginalize Sleiman’s role by negating the veto right enjoyed by his three ministers.

For his part, Rai said the Cabinet must serve in a caretaker capacity, warning against devising an unconstitutional mechanism of governing. “The violation of the Constitution, the National Pact and the coexistence formula has reached a peak with the failure to elect a president over the past nine months, and consequently with the disruption of Parliament’s prerogatives and the government’s work,” Rai said in his Sunday sermon at Bkirki, north of Beirut.

Noting that the Cabinet, in addition to its executive powers, exercises the president’s prerogatives by proxy during the presidential vacuum, he said: “The Cabinet must exercise the president’s powers only by consensus and with a caretaker mentality rather than by devising mechanisms that run contrary to the Constitution as if the presidential vacuum is a normal matter.”

Hezbollah unperturbed by Rifi’s warnings on Syria

BEIRUT: Hezbollah looked unperturbed Sunday after Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi condemned the party’s continued involvement in Syria’s 4-year-old civil war, saying Hezbollah was “on the road to suicide” and will “regret their decision to fight.”

“Hezbollah has committed a strategic mistake with its military involvement in Syria,” Rifi said in comments published Sunday by Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai.

Rifi argued that Hezbollah is paying a huge price for its involvement, and increasing numbers of its fighters are being killed.

The minister also revealed that he intends to propose a clause forbidding foreign involvement into the national anti-terror strategy being discussed in talks between the Future Movement and Hezbollah.

The rival parties are currently holding dialogue sessions aimed at easing tensions.

“Hezbollah should know that this is a primary issue in the national anti-terror strategy, that we will criminalize any fighting by Lebanese outside of Lebanon,” Rifi said.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced on May 25, 2013, that his party had joined the Syrian regime in their fight against rebels.

The group has been widely criticized for the move, particularly as it has exacerbated the spillover of rebel groups into Lebanon, including ISIS and the Nusra Front, who pose a serious threat to the country’s security.

Speaking at a commemoration of the anniversary of his father’s assassination earlier this month, Future Movement leader Saad Hariri also called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria. Hariri said he refused to allow Lebanon to be dragged into regional conflict.

Rifi’s criticism comes following a speech by Nasrallah on Feb. 16.

“If Sayyed Nasrallah harbors the delusion that he will win, then he doesn’t know how to read history,” Rifi said when asked about the Hezbollah chief’s invitation for his rivals to join the fight in Syria and Iraq. “In my opinion, Hezbollah is on the road to suicide.”

Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council, seemed unperturbed by the comments. “We have decided not to be dragged into political bickering or provocative and sectarian disputes,” he said, in an indirect response to Rifi.

Qaouk explained the decision was a result of the party’s commitment to the Future Movement-Hezbollah dialogue.

“We understand those targeting Hezbollah,” Qaouk said, speaking at a ceremony for party member Hussein Qaoun, who was killed in Syria. “They’re expressing disappointment at the failure of [their] bets in Syria and the continuation of the dialogue.”

Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad said that combating extremism is combating Israel, which he claimed was promoting extremist takfiri groups.

“Takrifi terrorism doesn’t have a clear-cut project that it’s trying to achieve, in Syria or anywhere else,” he said, speaking at a memorial ceremony for the late journalist Arafat Hijazi in Hussaineyet Aita al-Jabal in south Lebanon.

“It’s a criminal and aggressive predisposition that defies human logic.”

Raad added that foreign powers use extremist groups and assaults by Israel to pursue their own interests.

Mohammad Fneish, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Hezbollah member, explained that it was impossible for his party to remain disassociated given the current situation in the region.

Speaking at a Hezbollah political meeting in the southern town of Ramadieh, Fneish said that the Jan. 18 airstrike in Qunaitra that killed six Hezbollah members and an Iranian general unveiled Israel’s deep role in the Syrian conflict.

“Lebanon’ security is threatened by the presence of these takrifi groups along the border, but it’s less affected by them for several reasons,” Fneish noted, referring to Hezbollah fighters. “On the ground there’s a resistance force exerting every effort.”

Unified prescription forms: Who benefits?

BEIRUT: After a decadelong effort, unified prescription forms will finally be circulated as of early March. Policymakers and industry stakeholders say the adoption of unified prescription forms will expand the market share of generic drugs in Lebanon, saving money for both patients and the government. They also expect transparency and tracking of drug flows to improve.

“The law will make a huge difference for the state, because people will start moving from brand name to generic drugs,” Health Minister Abu Faour told The Daily Star.

He said generic drugs only comprised 13 percent of the pharmaceutical market in Lebanon, whereas in Europe and the U.S., generic use ranges from 80-95 percent.

Abu Faour said that when the law was first passed by Parliament in 2011, it was subsequently stalled due to commercial interests between pharmaceutical firms and doctors.

He elaborated by saying that “some doctors are only prescribing drugs that are produced or marketed by certain companies.”

Prior to the adoption of the law, the Order of Physicians said it would not proceed with printing the forms until the amendment of Article 42 of the bylaws of the National Social Security Fund.

The bylaws required pharmacists to sell to patients only the medication written on the prescription form. They could not sell generic drugs or comparable substitutes, even at the patient’s request.

The bylaws are now being changed to allow patients to purchase generic medications, and on Feb. 19 the Order of Physicians agreed to begin printing the unified prescription forms starting in March.

The forms will be purchased by doctors throughout the country, and will include three copies: one for physicians, one for the patient and one for the pharmacist.

The doctor’s name, contact information and registration number with the Order of Physicians will be printed on the forms. Abu Faour said use of the forms would help fight corruption.

Head of the Order of Physicians Antoine Boustani expressed support for the unified prescription forms, saying amending the NSSF bylaws was necessary prior to adopting the forms as it would ensure that patients are reimbursed for generic medications they choose to substitute for name brands.

“It’s important that patients would have that kind of freedom without losing the advantage of a NSSF coverage, and so that the action mechanism would work,” Boustani said.

A crucial element of the forms is the option for a doctor to prohibit substitution. Doctors can prevent their patients’ preference to switching to a generic or cheaper name brand drug by indicating on the form that only the drug prescribed should be purchased.

When the doctor does not stop substitution, and the patient chooses a different drug than the one prescribed, pharmacists must document that patient’s acceptance of the substituted drug at the time of purchase.

According to Boustani, the “no substitution” option is for the benefit of the patient.

“It is very necessary for doctors to make sure the patients take the right medication, which is vital in some cases and can’t be replaced by generic medicines,” he said.

Rabih Hassouna, president of Lebanon’s Order of Pharmacists, saw the implementation of unified prescription forms as a positive move, as it will enhance the monitoring of medications sold in the country, and enable pharmacists to practice their profession beyond the role of commercial sales.

“We supported the implementation from the beginning because we believe it is the first step in organizing the medical field and the pharmaceutical market in Lebanon to make it more transparent,” he said, adding that the forms give “freedom to the pharmacist to exchange the product based on his competency and training.”

He explained that generic drugs in Lebanon hold such a small share of the market due to public perception that they are inferior to name brand drugs, and pointed to the marketing efforts of pharmaceutical companies as a key contributor to that notion.

“There is a big influence by pharmaceutical companies, either the brand name companies or generic [drug manufacturers], let’s be fair and not only attack the brand name companies,” Hassouna said.

A 2009 WHO report on transparency in Lebanon’s pharmaceutical sector attributed the low use of generics in Lebanon to pharmaceutical companies’ heavy influence on doctors, which “has created trade name affinity and loyalty.”

Mohammad Jawad Khalifeh, health minister from 2005-11, agreed that the general public has a misconception about the quality of generic drugs, saying that during his tenure as minister, he had sought to counter public opinion with awareness campaigns.

He explained that the majority of generics are brand name drugs beyond the patent expiration date.

“They are not changing anything [about the drug], it is just that the patent expired,” he said.

According to the WHO, a generic drug is “a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovator product, that is manufactured without a license from the innovator company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights.”

Khalifeh was one of the main advocates of unified prescription forms, spearheading the effort to adopt the law during his time as minister, as part of a larger campaign for health care reform in Lebanon. He aimed to reduce the high cost of pharmaceuticals for the benefit of the public as well as the state.

“The NSSF is suffering from great losses from paying for branded medications,” he said.

As the insurance scheme that covers over a million Lebanese working in the public and private sectors, the NSSF functions on employer contributions and, in general, reimburses patients for 80 percent of drug costs.

The Daily Star reported in 2012 that the NSSF had accumulated a deficit of approximately LL431 billion, as of late 2011.

Khalifeh stressed the need for electronic record keeping in tandem with the use of unified prescription forms, so that auditors of pharmacies could obtain complete data that would enable the government to monitor and expose cases of smuggling.

A doctor who spoke to The Daily Star on the condition of anonymity expressed concern that doctors may abuse the power given for the “no substitution option” on the form.

“If the doctor stops prescribing brand name drugs, it may affect the incentives he was receiving from the pharmaceutical company, because that doctor’s sales of the drug would be less,” she said.

She added that patients suffering from chronic diseases would benefit most from having the power to choose generic drugs because they “will need drugs for the rest of their lives. If they are the patient of a doctor who only prescribes brand names, and not generics, they will spend a lot of money on their medications. Those from a poor background will end up paying more. It’s a social justice issue.”

Rates of chronic diseases are increasing in Lebanon, as life spans lengthen and increasing numbers of Lebanese suffer from conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Armand Phares, president of the Lebanese Pharmaceutical Importers Association, reacted positively to the adoption of unified prescription forms, speculating that they would improve ethical decision-making among pharmaceutical sales representatives, doctors and pharmacists.

“By opening the door to substitution under very strict conditions, the effect of the unified medical prescription paves the way to enlarging the market share of comparable [or] lower priced drugs versus their originators or other generics,” Phares said.

He added that setting a comparable list of generic drugs is difficult, as those involved must ensure that the generic has the same active ingredient and the same dosage as the name brand drug. Also, attention must be paid to the inactive ingredients that were part of the manufacturing process, as they can affect drug safety.

Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi said on Feb. 20 that NSSF coverage of generics only extends to those drugs on a World Health Organization-approved list of substitutes, published by the Health Ministry.

Moreover, the patient must give his consent before a prescribed drug can be substituted.

Abu Faour adamant on terminating Hotel Dieu contract

BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour remained determined Sunday to terminate the government’s contract with a Beirut hospital that refused to admit a disabled patient.

“The state [is not to be considered a viable] one if it fails to convince a hospital to treat a poor citizen with health coverage from the Health Ministry,” Abu Faour said in a statement issued by his ministry.

“Under any circumstance, we will not allow the humiliation of citizens, or the demeaning of the state, which remains stronger than everybody else.”

The Hotel Dieu de France Hospital in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district said Sunday that its doors were still open to patients with health coverage from Lebanon’s Health Ministry, one day after the latter announced that it had terminated the government’s contract with the facility.

In a statement, Hotel Dieu hospital announced its commitment to treating emergency cases pertaining to patients who are covered by the Health Ministry.

The patient, who was neither covered by the National Social Security Fund nor a private insurance company, was to undergo the procedure at the expense of the Health Ministry.

The hospital responded by claiming that it did not refuse to admit the patient who visited the facility earlier this month, but instead delayed the surgery since the patient was not deemed to be in urgent need of the operation.

According to the statement, delaying the procedure was also due to the fact that the operation required a one-month stay in the hospital, which meant that arrangements had to be made in coordination with the physicians’ schedules and the availability of rooms.

The hospital claimed that it had informed the patient’s family that they would be contacted with the date of the surgery when all preparations were finalized.

The hospital called on the Health Ministry to refer its complaints directly to the hospital’s president in an effort to avoid any future misunderstandings.

In response, the Health Ministry also released a statement Sunday, refuting the hospital’s version of events. It added it was not the minister’s duty to file a complaint to any party regarding the incident.

The statement said that patient, Loris Khalil, who was issued a disability card by the Health Ministry, visited the hospital earlier this month after suffering from acute inflammation in her feet to seek the services of Dr. Khalil Kharat, an orthopedic specialist at the hospital.

The patient, who has been suffering from the disability since she fell off the fifth floor of her building in 2013, decided to undergo surgery after consulting with Dr. Gabriel Saliba, another physician in the hospital.

In turn, Saliba had ordered her to complete the necessary paperwork and said that the hospital would contact her when preparations for the procedure were finalized.

However, the hospital did not contact the patient, which prompted the intervention of Health Minister Wael Abu Faour, who tasked a ministerial official with ensuring the hospital’s compliance with treating Khalil.

During talks, the hospital’s president repeatedly refused to carry out the procedure due to the operation’s high cost and the facility’s contract was thus terminated, the ministry statement said.

As a result of the contract cancellation, Hotel Dieu will no longer be allowed to treat patients covered by the ministry.

Sunday’s statement also warned that any facility that “humiliates citizens” in a similar manner will meet the same fate.

Lebanese welcome sunshine, survey storm damages

BEIRUT: Skiers hit the slopes of Kesrouan and Metn Sunday, after a powerful storm buried villages across the country under thick layers of snow and wreaked havoc on the country’s weak infrastructure.

The weekend sunshine brought a welcomed change after two days of heavy blizzards, as the forecast called for clear skies Monday, with no rain or snow.

The Meteorology Department at the Beirut airport predicted an increase in temperatures as of Monday. The week will kick off with cloudy weather and temperatures ranging between 10 and 22 degrees Celsius along the coast, between 5 and 11 degrees in the mountains and between 6 and 17 degrees in the Bekaa Valley, according to the department.

But showers will renew as of Tuesday as a sandstorm is making its way toward Lebanon. Visibility will be significantly reduced due to the high winds carrying dust that will hit Lebanon.

Over the weekend, Lebanon began to survey the damage caused by the two-day storm named “Windy.”

Several roads in high-altitude regions remained blocked until early Sunday morning, and others were glazed in ice, causing several cars to skid.

The Lebanese Army and UNIFIL peacekeepers joined forces to open roads leading to the southeastern villages of Shebaa and Kfar Shuba. The road linking Shebaa to Ain Ata in the Rashaya region remained blocked, however, due to thick layers of snow.

Meanwhile the vital Dahr al-Baidar road, which connects Beirut to east Lebanon, has become accessible for all cars.

The morning’s icy roads led to several traffic accidents Saturday, including a collision between a van and a car near Qobeiyat, north Lebanon that injured 10 people.

In the village of Khraibet al-Jundi, north of Tripoli, two families were briefly trapped when support walls collapsed Friday night due to the heavy rain, blocking the entrances to their two-story house.

“We as a municipality do not have the necessary capacities to rebuild the support wall or to compensate the families,” the village’s Mayor Khaled Taha told The Daily Star. “This is why we call on the Higher Relief Committee to take this into account as soon as possible.”

In Bibnine, also north of Tripoli, the wall of a home collapsed during the storm, nearly burying it under mud.

Resident Marwan Abdallah told The Daily Star that he was outside the home with his children when they heard a loud noise.

“When we returned to the house we were surprised to find it filled with mud and stones after a bedroom wall collapsed,” he said, expressing relief that no one was injured in the incident.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter visited Saturday the village of Mtaileb in the Metn district, where a large wall on the main road had also collapsed at night because of the storm.

“The wall is ancient, it is around 70 years old,” Zeaiter said. “The collapse will be fixed by the ministry according to the public safety article ... We will not wait for bureaucratic routine before launching the works.”

Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb called on Lebanon’s two telecoms companies, alfa and touch, to address the malfunctions that hit their networks as a result of the storm.

A statement released by Harb’s media office said the minister’s call came after major disruptions to telephone networks were witnessed as “Windy” raged.

Bassil in Mexico, highlights Lebanon’s role in fighting terror

BEIRUT: Following a landmark visit to Cuba, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil arrived over the weekend in Mexico, where he stressed Lebanon’s crucial role in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at an event held by the Lebanese expatriate community, Bassil said the tolerance exhibited by Lebanese is vital in today’s world.

“If we abandon [tolerance], the alternative is ISIS and terrorism.”

Bassil thanked the Lebanese community in Mexico for their support, and announced an initiative to help expatriates reconnect with their home country. He also asked for their continued support in the battle against terrorism.

“Some of you came here as a result of war and famine. Today [terrorists] are trying to starve us and uproot us from our lands.”

“When you buy Lebanese products, you are encouraging Lebanese families to stay,” Bassil said, urging expatriates to support Lebanese exports like wine and olive oil.

The foreign minister added that it was important for the community to protect the Arabic language and expressed his support for the establishment of Arabic schools in the country.

Bassil’s visit to Mexico is the second stop on a tour of Latin America, and comes on the heels of his arrival in Havana, where he became the first Lebanese foreign minister to visit the country since 1970. His trip included a visit to the grave of Jose Marto, a Cuban revolutionary intellectual and national hero, and meetings with top officials.

At a meeting with Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Bassil signed an agreement on cooperation and political consultation, with the aim of boosting diplomatic collaboration.

The agreement will allow for increased discussion and collaboration on issues of mutual interest in politics, culture, industry and security, according to a statement released Saturday by Bassil’s media office.

Bassil also met with Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz to discuss methods for boosting relations, and the two agreed on forming a joint diplomatic committee for this purpose.

Foreign Minister Parrilla highlighted Cuba’s solidarity with Lebanon and his desire to see an end to Israeli efforts to destabilize the country. “We express our support for the Lebanese and Arab causes, especially the Palestinian cause,” he said following the meeting.

In turn, Bassil congratulated his counterpart on the recent rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, saying “the revolutionary spirit of the Cuban people” had led to this positive outcome.

Bassil added that he hoped Cuba’s Lebanese population, estimated to number more than 30,000, would continue to help bring the two countries together.

ISIS preparing to declare Islamic emirate in Lebanon: sources

ISIS is preparing military plans to declare an Islamic emirate in Lebanon very soon to serve as a geographical extension of the so-called “Islamic State” announced by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Iraq last year, security sources said.

ISIS fighters have demanded support from the militant group in northern Syria to achieve this goal, the sources said.

They added that the ISIS command has begun preparations to set up a military organizational committee tasked with running Lebanese affairs and considering Lebanon as part of its state.

However, ISIS is facing difficulties in choosing a Lebanese commander for this mission. The reported appointment of the fugitive preacher Ahmad al-Assir for this post was merely a trial balloon, the sources said.

They added that arrangements to form an ISIS command for the Lebanon emirate were taking place under the supervision of the group commander Khalaf al-Zeyabi Halous, codenamed “Abu Musaab Halous,” a Syrian who had played a key role in the ISIS offensive to capture the Raqqa province in 2013.

Abu Musaab Halous, accompanied by a number of ISIS military commanders, recently visited the Qalamoun region on the Lebanese-Syrian border, where he met with field commanders with whom he discussed the creation of security and military formations between Qalamoun and Lebanon, the sources said.

In addition to the fact that the adventure of setting up an Islamic emirate in Lebanon has not received the green light from the powers backing ISIS, the group’s attempt expand into Lebanon might be doomed to failure, the sources added.

In the meantime, an influential party in Lebanon has received important information indicating that ISIS is bent on recruiting more suicide bombers equipped with explosives belts to target Shiite gatherings in Beirut and the southern suburbs as well as French and Western interests, while the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, which was targeted with a deadly twin suicide attack in November 2013, is still vulnerable to another assault.

As Lebanon faces growing security threats, military assistance to the Lebanese Army is expected to be stepped up to help the country stand on its feet.

The United States will provide the Lebanese Army with six Super Cobra fighter aircraft as part of the U.S. military aid to the Army, reports said. The aircraft are manufactured by the Bell military helicopter company.

Also, sources close to the military establishment said that America had agreed to sell some F-5 fighter jets to the Lebanese Army in the next five months.

This coincided with official and party security reports that terrorist organizations, at the forefront of which are ISIS and the Nusra Front, are preparing to launch attacks deep into Lebanese territory, not only from the outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal, but also from along the eastern frontier.

Manufactured by the Northrop company, the F-5 jets, first designed in 1950s and put into operation in 1960s, are used by some Arab armies. The aircraft has a range of 1,400 km with maximum speed of 1,700 km.

The U.S. has already provided aid to the Lebanese Army including armored vehicles, machine guns and ammunition warehouses, which the military needs in its battle against militant groups on various fronts along the common border with Syria.

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Rai: Cabinet can’t replace president

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai accused Cabinet Sunday of devising an unconstitutional mechanism of governing and trying to replace the office of the president.

Rai said that procedures governing its work “should only take place through consensus... and not by devising mechanisms that run contrary to the constitution.”

In his Sunday sermon, Rai said that ending the nine-month long presidential vacuum would solve the deadlock in Cabinet and would contribute to the revival of state institutions.

When Former President Michel Sleiman left office last May, the Cabinet adopted a system which requires unanimous backing among all 24 ministers to approve decisions.

The current system, not stipulated in the Constitution, allows any minister to veto a decision which has led to a political deadlock in Cabinet.

Article 65 of the Lebanese Constitution states that decisions must be made unanimously in Cabinet. However, in cases where a consensus cannot be reached, the Constitution requires a simple majority vote.

In exceptional cases, a Cabinet decision would require the approval of two-thirds of all 24 ministers and not just those in attendance.

The Constitution defines exceptional cases as the following: “The amendment of the constitution, the declaration of a state of emergency and its termination, war and peace, general mobilization, international [conventions], long-term comprehensive development plans, the appointment of employees of grade one and its equivalent, the reconsideration of the administrative divisions, the dissolution of the [Parliament], electoral laws, nationality laws, personal status laws, and the dismissal of ministers.”

Hospital fails to reconcile with health ministry

BEIRUT: A prestigious Beirut hospital said Sunday that its doors are still open to patients with health coverage from Lebanon’s Health Ministry, one day after the latter announced that it had terminated the government's contact with the facility.

In a statement published Sunday, the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beirut's Ashrafieh district announced its commitment to treating emergency cases pertaining to patients who are covered by the Health Ministry.

The announcement came one day after the Health Ministry terminated its contract with the hospital because it refused to admit a patient suffering from disability.

The patient, who was neither covered by the National Social Security Fund nor a private insurance company, was to undergo the procedure at the expense of the Health Ministry.

The hospital responded by claiming that it did not refuse to admit the patient who visited the facility earlier this month, but instead delayed the surgery since the patient was not deemed to be in urgent need of the operation.

According to the statement, delaying the procedure was also due to the fact that the operation required a one month stay in the hospital which meant that arrangements had to be made in coordination with the physicians' schedules and the availability of rooms. The hospital claimed that it had informed the family of the patient that they would be contacted with the date of the surgery when all preparations were finalized.

The hospital called on the Health Ministry to refer its complaints directly to the hospital’s president in an effort to avoid any future misunderstandings.

In response, the Health Ministry also released a statement Sunday, refuting the hospital's version of events.

The statement said that patient Loris Khalil, who was issued a disability card by Dr. Khalil Kharat, an orthopedic specialist at Hotel Dieu, visited the hospital earlier this month after suffering from acute inflammation in her feet.

The patient who has been suffering from the disability since she fell off the fifth floor of her building in 2013, decided to undergo surgery after consulting with the Dr. Gabriel Saliba, another physician in the hospital.

In turn, Salbia had ordered her to complete the necessary paperwork and said that the hospital would contact her when preparations for the procedure were finalized.

However, the hospital did not contact the patient, which prompted the intervention of Health Minister Wael Abu Faour who tasked a ministerial official with ensuring the hospital’s compliance with treating Khalil.

During talks, the hospital's president repeatedly refused to carry out the procedure due to the operation’s high cost and the facility's contract was thus terminated, the statement said.

As a result of the contract cancelation, Hotel Dieu will no longer be allowed to treat patients covered by the ministry.

Sunday’s statement also warned that any facility that “humiliates citizens” in a similar manner will meet the same fate.

Deal reached over hostage crisis: mediator

BEIRUT: A preliminary agreement has been reached between the Lebanese government and the Nusra Front for the release of captive Lebanese servicemen, according to an informal mediator who is close to the jihadi group.

Sheikh Mustafa Hujeiri, an informal mediator negotiating the release of Lebanese captives being held by the Nusra Front, told The Daily Star that the Lebanese government earlier this month restarted detailed negotiations with the jihadi group in an effort to secure the release of Lebanese captives.

Hujeiri, who maintains close ties with the Nusra Front, said that negotiations have led to “a preliminary agreement that will make way for the release of the Lebanese servicemen.”

“The agreement has been reached. There is one small complication left but when that is resolved the next step would be the implementation of the deal,” Hujeiri said, without disclosing the exact nature of the obstacle hindering the accord.

25 Lebanese servicemen are still being held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front on the outskirts of Arsal.

More than 30 soldiers and police were abducted by the militants during a five-day battle with the Lebanese Army in Arsal in August. Eight hostages have since been released and four were killed.

According to Hujeiri, a solution may take time to materialize since the final agreement would require consensus among Cabinet’s members.

With regards to ISIS, the Arsal sheikh said that mediation efforts with the group were were currently “suspended.”

The agreement with the Nusra Front has come after the group reportedly softened its demands for the release of the hostages.

The Nusra Front has demanded the release of Islamist inmates in return for the release of the captive servicemen. “Softened demands” could mean that the group is no longer requesting the release of high profile Islamist inmates, settling instead for those who are accused of minor offences.

Hujeiri said that the government is still waiting for a full list of prisoner’s names after it had received the names of some inmates whose release was demanded in a prisoner swap for the Lebanese hostages.

Hujeiri also noted that the Lebanese government has displayed a renewed willingness to negotiate, saying that “it has become much closer to accepting militant’s demands than any time in the past.”

The positive turn in the negotiations is evidenced by the fact that the families of three of the hostages have visited their sons in Lebanon's outskirts earlier this month. The captors had halted family visits for a brief period of time when negotiations with the government had reached a stalemate but their resumption could reflect the renewed seriousness in talks between the two parties.

Late last month, General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim, who is heading negotiation efforts, said that positive signs on the Lebanese hostage crisis have emerged recently.

“It seems that there are positive signs on the part of the kidnappers to end the crisis,” Ibrahim said. “We are working on conditions and counter-conditions, and we hope we reach a happy ending.”

Cabinet to resume sessions next week: report

BEIRUT: Cabinet is expected to resume work next week following a temporary suspension, as former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri discuss ways of ending Cabinet’s ongoing deadlock, Al-Mustaqbal said Sunday.

In a report published Sunday, Al-Mustaqbal quoted ministerial sources as saying that Cabinet is expected to resume its work Thursday, a week after Prime Minister Tammam Salam vowed not to hold any more sessions until an agreement over the decision making mechanism was reached.

Cabinet did not convene last Thursday due to sharp disagreements over the decision-making mechanism in the government’s executive body.

Berri, who met with the former premier Friday, said that both the Amal Movement and the Future Movement supported the simple majority vote system outlined in the Constitution to end the Cabinet deadlock, according to a seperate Al-Mustaqbal report.

Berri, who described his Friday meeting with Hariri was “excellent,” noted that talks also focused on preserving national interests and the election of a president.

When Former President Michel Sleiman left office last May, the Cabinet adopted a system which requires unanimous backing among all 24 ministers to approve decisions.

The current system, not stipulated in the Constitution, allows any minister to veto a decision which has led to a political deadlock in Cabinet.

Article 65 of the Lebanese Constitution states that decisions must be made unanimously in Cabinet. However, in cases where a consensus cannot be reached, the Constitution requires a simple majority vote.

In exceptional cases, a Cabinet decision would require the approval of two-thirds of all 24 ministers and not just those in attendance.

The Constitution defines exceptional cases as the following: “The amendment of the constitution, the declaration of a state of emergency and its termination, war and peace, general mobilization, international [conventions], long-term comprehensive development plans, the appointment of employees of grade one and its equivalent, the reconsideration of the administrative divisions, the dissolution of the [Parliament], electoral laws, nationality laws, personal status laws, and the dismissal of ministers.”