Day: March 29, 2023

House committees’ clash: March 8 forces on edge…The aim is to torpedo the municipal elections
Al-Liwaa:
Tension explodes in House committees’ meeting…Retirees to take to the streets tomorrow in pursuit of lost salaries
Asharq:
From incitement over time zone to parliament slurs
Al-Anbaa:
European concerns about Lebanon…Sectarian rhetoric on the rise and growing fears of ‘street explosion’

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

In continuation of the strong cooperation between the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the ‘Regional Framework for the Arab States (2023 – 2028)’ was signed and the ‘Arab Plan for Prevention and Reduction of the Dangers of Drugs to Arab Society: Towards Effective Handling of the Issue from a Social Perspective’ was launched today Sunday the 26th of March at the LAS Headquarters. H.E. Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of LAS and H.E Ms. Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director co-signed the aforementioned Regional Framework (2023 – 2028).
The signature of the Framework and the launch of the Plan included the participation of H. E. Ms. Nivine El Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Permanent Member of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, H. E. Maryam Bint Nasser Al-Misned, Minister of Social Development the State of Qatar and Chair of the 42nd session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, and with the presence of the Permanent Member States’ Ambassadors at LAS, a number of Ambassadors of different countries, in addition to Heads and Representatives of United Nations bodies and agencies.
The Regional Framework for the Arab States 2023-2028 acts as the overarching strategic framework for cooperation between UNODC and LAS. It frames how UNODC will strengthen, prioritize, customize, and deliver support to the Arab region in effective response to some of the most pressing challenges faced by these countries and in connection with UNODC’s mandates and specialties.
The Regional Framework articulates six focus areas for guiding UNODC-implemented programming at the regional and national levels and they are: a balanced approach to drug control, strengthening the response to organized crime, combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, action against corruption and financial crime, preventing and countering terrorism and violence, and strengthening crime/violence prevention and criminal justice.
Furthermore, the Regional Framework applies six key accelerators across all programmatic interventions to speed up progress and maximize efforts towards fast-tracking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and they are: partnerships, women and girls, innovation, science, and forensics, human rights, youth and children, and inclusive and people-centered programming. The programme will also support UNODC’s partnership expansion with Member States in the region to include current vital Ministries and Institutions relevant to youth, solidarity, education, culture, human rights, countering corruption; in addition to previous partnerships with the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Health.
The event also saw the launch of the Arab Plan for Prevention and Reduction of the Dangers of Drugs to Arab Society: Towards Effective Handling of the Issue from a Social Perspective. This important plan represents a regional social framework for combating drugs in the Arab States by highlighting the social dimension of drug demand reduction in the context of its negative impact on social development in specific and sustainable development in general. This is also at the heart of efforts to achieve the Arab Declaration adopted by LAS in 2016 to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda 2023. The present document provides an indicative vision for guiding Arab action towards a comprehensive and integrated response based on scientific evidence and consistent with Arab specificity of this phenomenon. The Plan aims to build national strategies and action plans that meet national requirements and includes a number of initiatives, projects and activities that achieve their objectives in complementarity with Arab efforts to combat the supply of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances through comprehensive actions that include proactiveness and social resolution.
The Arab Plan’s dimensions showcase the methods of how to address this phenomenon from a social perspective and in line with Arab countries’ regulations and conditions in order to implement effective interventions including related multidimensional social and development consequences and to strengthen Arab efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The important dimensions of the Plan include community prevention, rehabilitation and social integration, addressing drug-related harm and its consequences, as well as the dimensions and themes in support of the Plan’s areas of action, namely international cooperation, scientific research and innovation, coordination mechanisms, governance, implementation, measurement and impact assessment.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

State Prosecutor Judge Imad Qabalan will hear Judge Ghada Aoun at 11:00 am tomorrow (Thursday) following the libel and slander lawsuit filed against her by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Kataeb Party Leader, Sami Gemayel, on Wednesday utterly refused to have Hezbollah impose a president of the republic on the Lebanese.
‘Such a president would be the president of Hezbollah’s republic and not that of all the Lebanese,’ Gemayel said in a press conference.
‘The new Lebanese president should enjoy the ability and willingness to negotiate in order to restore sovereignty and deal with Hezbollah’s weapons,’ affirmed Gemayel.
The Kataeb leader then urged MPs to head to parliament and elect a president who can unite the Lebanese and who is not imposed on them.
Gemayel went on to censure the ‘provocative behavior and attempts to establish superiority over others, amid an unprecedented economic crisis.’
Referring to the dispute that dissolved yesterday’s joint parliamentary committees’ session, Gemayel said that the country could’ve been pushed to a very dangerous place if he had acted differently. ‘I don’t know where Lebanon would have been today,” Gemayel added.
The Kataeb chief further regretted that despite the pressing need to move forward, ‘some are still living in the past.’
“We’re well aware what war means, and we don’t want to return to it,” he warned.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued decree no. (91) for the year 2023 on a Cabinet reshuffle that includes five ministers.
The decree stipulates for appointing Dr. Firas Hassan Qaddour as Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources, Mr. Mohsen Abdul Karim Ali as Minister of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Dr. Abdel Qader Jokhadar as Minister of Industry, Mr. Louai Emad El-Din al-Munajjid as Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, and Mr. Ahmed Bustaji as Minister of State.
The decree also ends the appointment of Eng. Mohammad Fayez al-Barsha as Minister of State.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon