Abu Faour punishes hospital over denial of care

BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour Monday froze his ministry’s contract with Tripoli’s Albert Haykal Hospital after it allegedly denied emergency care to a bleeding pregnant woman.

Abu Faour called on the Syndicate of Doctors to interrogate H. Daher, the doctor who was responsible of the hostpital’s emergency department when the incident occurred. Daher was also banned from treating patients at the expense of the Health Ministry.

According to the National News Agency, a Rima Mohammad Khaled was four months pregnant and bleeding when she arrived at the Albert Haykal Hospital in the northern city late Saturday night. Staff there reportedly refused to admit her

Dr. A. Hablas, and G. Shaheen, a midwife, were called for interrogation over the case.

A hospital employee had told The Daily Star that the woman was not admitted initially because “there was nothing wrong with her,” because it was a "simple case of external bleeding."

However, the Ministry’s investigations and the hospital said that Khaled’s physical situation was “critical.”

Abu Faour referred the case to the State Prosecutor’s office, and warned against similar actions by any hospital, saying that they would lead to “legal action" and the cancellation of the Ministry's contract with the institution.

Kataeb calls for immediate presidential election

BEIRUT: The Kataeb Party Monday called for the immediate election of a president and urged teachers to start grading official exams, following a union announcement that they would boycott grading until the new salary scale is passed.

In a statement after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party said that "in light of the dangerous events in Iraq, and the spread of fundamentalist movements in the Arab world," electing a president was necessary so that Lebanon's democratic political institutions would function normally.

The group also pressed teachers to drop their threat to boycott the marking of official exams in case Parliament did not pass a new salary scale this week.

“We call on... the teachers to immediately grade the exams and publish their results, to show mercy to students and allow them to enroll in university,” the party said in a statement.

The party said it supportd a new salary scale that does not harm the economy or affect the Lebanese currency, calling for cooperation among the Cabinet, Parliament, and unions.

Army arrests three in north Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Army arrested three wanted individuals over the weekend in the northern city of Tripoli for arms possession and firing into the air, on some occasions accidentally killing citizens, a statement from the military said.

The Army arrested Ahmad Qassem Othman and Mustafa Khaled Mheish for firing into the air on previous occasions, killing two citizens and wounding another, the military said.

The third detainee, Khaled Faer Hamdan, was arrested for possessing a gun and firing into the air, the statement said.

All three were arrested in the Bab al-Hadid neighborhood of Tripoli.

Lebanese political and security authorities are on alert, monitoring dramatic developments in Iraq, and have adopted a series of preventive measures to avoid ripples of the conflict being felt here.

The Lebanese Army conducted patrols over the weekend over the border area in search of gunmen and terror suspects.

Officials inaugurate Miramar resort in n. Lebanon

TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi called on Lebanese officials to come to together to mitigate the effects of the siuation in Iraq, warning about the repercussions for the entire region, especially Lebanon.

“What is happening in Iraq is very dangerous and no one has the truth about what is really going on up to the moment,” he said.

“What we are witnessing today is a major development at the level of the region and its repercussions could affect Arab countries in general and Lebanon in particular,” he added.

“Lebanese officials should be aware of what is going on and seek to avoid the fires of the region within the country, we should work together to get through this difficult phase,” Rifi said.

He made the comments while attending the inauguration ceremony of the Miramar Resort and Hotel in north Lebanon over the weekend, along with a number of officials, under the auspices of Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon.

“Security is of course the duty of the state and a right for citizens,” Pharaon said during the ceremony.

“Yesterday, Tripoli was bleeding and with it all Lebanon was bleeding, then a government was formed and we implemented a security plan,” he said.

“The situation in the country only became stable when the security in Tripoli was restored because when Tripoli is okay, the rest of Lebanon becomes okay as well.”

Miramar is located on the coastal Tripoli, Qalamoun highway.

Speaking on Tripoli, Rifi said that “the will to live in Tripoli triumphs over death, and Tripoli has become a safe destination despite developments surrounding Lebanon.”

He added that the situation in the city, torn by intermittent Syria-linked violence for three years, will not go back to what it was, and called on the state to encourage more development and tourism projects in the northern city.

Tripoli violence between supporters and opponents of Syria’s Assad regime came to an end in April with the state enforcing a security plan in the city.

Both ministers also called for the election of a new head of state as soon as possible to maintain stability in the country.

Berri slams critics over presidential election

BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri Saturday slammed his critics highlighting that he was exerting all efforts possible to reach a compromise over the necessity of holding the presidential election without further delay.

“A news agency that has launched 24/7 campaigns against Speaker Berri just claimed that the speaker was obstructing the presidential election in Lebanon,” Berri’s media office said in a statement. “It’s obvious that Speaker Nabih Berri has called for near weekly sessions to elect a new president and has exerted all efforts possible to reach a compromise over the necessity of holding the presidential election without further delay. “

The statement added that the parties standing behind the news agency launching attacks against Berri have missed all the election sessions for no reason. The statement did not name the outlet.

Lawmakers have now botched six attempts since April 23 to elect a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year term ended on May 25, with the last five failing due to lack of the two-thirds quorum of the legislature’s 128 members.

Berri scheduled the next session to elect the new president to June 18.

Syrian embassy celebrates Assad’s victory

BEIRUT: The Syrian Embassy in Lebanon organized a ceremony Saturday celebrating the election of Bashar Assad to the role of Syrian president for a third term.

Political parties allied to Assad dominated the visitors; notably representatives of Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Marada Movement, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Arab Socialist Baath Party and the Independent Nasserites (Mourabitoun) Movement.

Syrian ambassador Ali Abdul-Karim Ali delivered a speech in which he thanked those who attended, stressing the significance of the event in showing “the Syrian people’s trust in their government.”

Lebanese internet users to surpass 3 million in 2017

BEIRUT: The number of internet users in Lebanon is expected to reach 3.2 million in 2017, according to a study by a Dubai-based market research firm, published in the Lebanon This Week report by Byblos Bank.

According to Madar Research & Development center, 69.2 percent of the Lebanese population will be using the internet by the end of 2017, as opposed to just 45.1 percent in 2012.

If Madar’s prediction proves true, this will mark a significant increase from 2012, when the number of users was around 2 million.

The study’s report predicted that in the same year, Lebanon’s share of the Arab world’s internet users will be 1.6 percent.

This is significant given the fact that Lebanon’s population is estimated to be less than 1 percent of the Arab world.

Between 2012 and 2017, the Compound Annual Growth Rate, in other words the increase in the rate of the internet users, is expected to be 10 percent.

Lebanon, according to the report, will have the 5th highest numbers of internet users in the Arab world in 2017, coming behind Bahrain (87.4 percent), Kuwait (73.7 percent), Morocco (72.4 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (72.2 percent).