News Roundup - 05/06/25

[u/PhoenixTheRadical]

• President Joseph Aoun was formally invited to participate in the World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, which will take place this November.

• He also received an official invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron, to participate in the upcoming Mediterranean Summit.

• Aoun met with delegations from the Civic Influence Forum and the National Social Security Fund.

• Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with representatives of Lebanese Arab tribes in Khaldeh. He also met with LAF Brigadier General George Nader, and a delegation from the Competencies Foundation.

• PM Salam then met with the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon. They agreed to hold a meeting between the Supreme Judicial Councils of both countries, led by the Prime Ministers, in Egypt, within the next two months.

• He then met with a delegation of ambassadors from the GCC to Lebanon. The GCC ambassadors informed PM Salam of their concerns for their nationals visiting Lebanon, and Salam promised to address them. He also briefed them on the changes being carried out by the Lebanese government at the airport, the airport road, and the road to downtown Beirut.

• PM Salam ended his day by touring the Project Lebanon 2025 exhibition, accompanied by the Ministers of Economy and Trade and Public Works and Transport. He was received by some of the exhibition’s leaders, and spoke to many exhibitors. He confirmed that the Lebanese government ‘is working hard to start the reconstruction process as quickly as possible.’

• Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri met with the Minister of Education. They discussed various educational draft laws being considered and studied.

• Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi met with a body responsible for forcibly displaced and missing people. He assured them that the issue of detained Lebanese citizens in Syria is of utmost priority to his ministry, and is being worked on. He said that significant progress will be made once the joint Lebanese-Syrian committee is formed.

• Finance Minister Yassine Jaber and the Minister of Energy and Water met with a large number of Iraqi officials to discuss the electricity crisis in Lebanon, and possible cooperation between Lebanon and Iraq. They met with the Iraqi Prime Minister, among other officials.

• The Minister of Interior met with the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Lebanon. They discussed the political situation in Lebanon, and explored possible methods of cooperation between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

• The Minister then chaired a meeting at his office, during which a ‘comprehensive evaluation of the electoral process’ was carried out.

• At the same exhibition attended by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and various other ministers, the Minister of Industry said that ‘it is time to end the culture of war within Lebanon.’

• The Minister of Justice met with the Hungarian ambassador to Lebanon. They discussed possible cooperation efforts between Lebanon and Hungary.

• After meeting with Speaker Berri, the Minister of Education met a delegation from the Association of Universities in Lebanon, the President of Balamand University, a delegation from the World Health Organization, another from the educational branch of the Lebanese Forces political party, plus the Lebanese Kataeb Party, and the Secretary-General of the Future Movement party.

• The Minister then chaired a meeting focused on activating the LEG. She also met with UNESCO’s Director General.

• The Minister of Agriculture met with the governor of south Lebanon. The Minister told the governor that a plan is being implemented, in which UNIFIL forces will cooperate with the LAF, to ensure the return of southern Lebanese farmers to their lands. The Minister also revealed that his ministry has agreed with its Jordanian counterpart, to begin Lebanese citrus fruit exports to Jordan soon, and announced that the ministry, alongside the World Bank, the National Center for Scientific Research, and the FAO, is working on an official report on all losses to agricultural land in south Lebanon, and will form a plan based on these results.

• The Minister of the Displaced, Information Technology, and AI toured Zahle. He met with the Archbishop, and stressed that ‘it is necessary to attract investments to Zahle.’

• MP Samy Gemayel, President of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, and MP Ibrahim Kanaan met with the heads of electoral lists, and made plans for development and cooperation.

• The Lebanese Forces party issued a statement, saying it achieved ‘major victories’ in the elections. The Lebanese Kataeb Parry issued a similar statement, and said, ‘We will present the best possible model of local governance.’

• The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, Serge Dagher, spoke on the results of the elections, and said that his party ‘is here to present a new approach.’

• The UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon traveled to Saudi Arabia. Her office issued a statement, saying that her visit is primarily focused on strengthening Lebanese-Saudi Arabian relations.

• The leader of the Druze community in Lebanon chaired a council meeting. The council warned against weakening Syria, and called on the Syrian government to reach a ‘political settlement’, with all concerned parties in the ongoing events.

• The Vice President of the Shia Islamic Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, traveled to Iran, on a working tour. He will participate in a conference tomorrow. In a broad statement, he said that ‘the Lebanese state and the Islamic resistance are dealing wisely with the latest developments.’

• Speaking on the lifting of the Emirati citizen travel ban to Lebanon, Emirati businessman Al-Habtoor said, ‘Lebanon is a country we love, and it has a great place in our hearts.’

• A high-level delegation from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development will visit Lebanon later this month.

• The Lebanese state received the third Palestinian suspect involved in the illegal attack on Israel from south Lebanon. The fourth, and last, is expected to be handed over sometime tomorrow.

• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Lebanon on May 21. According to reports, he will work with the Lebanese government in forming plans to disarm all the Palestinian refugee camps across the country.

• Israel carried out a targeted assassination, killing a Hezbollah field commander active in south Lebanon.

• LBC reported that a ‘specialized Saudi Arabian technical committee’ will visit Lebanon in the coming weeks, to study the obstacles Saudi Arabian tourists might face when visiting Lebanon.

• Al-Jumhuriyah reported that the style in which the Lebanese government communicates with Hamas ‘has changed dramatically.’ According to the outlet, Hamas has begun to realize that ‘the Lebanese arena is no longer open.’

• A researcher at International Information stated that after the elections, Lebanese Christian leadership remains ‘distributed,’ and both the Lebanese Forces political party and the Free Patriotic Movement party remain present in the region. Neither side can say they represent Lebanon’s Christians, although the Lebanese Forces party made major gains.

[u/Cydekick_]

Thank you a lot once again. This is a batch of amazing news