Syria News Wire

I’ve been on a Beirut-reading binge: I’ve just finished three new books set in Beirut over the past few years, and all three have astonishingly similar endings.
Sabra Zoo
If you know me at all, you’ll know that I’ve been raving about Sabra Zoo since I got my hands on an advance copy last month. Here’s what [...]

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After last year’s little upset when there were street battles (well almost) between angry residents and happy party-goers, Gemmayze’s gone quiet.
That’s the hope.

Posters have started appearing along Gemmayze, telling the crazy kids to shutup.
And yes, I am aware that the posters have been up for ages. Thank you and goodnight.

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Hizbollah’s leader Hasan Nasrallah has given an impassioned speech to huge crowds. It marks the third anniversary of the end of Israel’s 2006 massacre on Lebanon.
The big message was this: if Israel tries something like that again, the response will be even more tough. Attack Beirut and we will attack Tel Aviv, he said.
I didn’t [...]

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As Lebanon moves closer to announcing its unity cabinet, a lot of people are complaining about the length of time it has taken to get this far.
It is now eight weeks since the most hotly fought elections in Lebanon’s history. The ruling March 14 coalition held on to power – winning by 55% to 45%. It was a [...]

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According to Sami Moubayed, this is how the 30 posts will be divided up:
15 for Saad Al-Hariri’s ruling March 14 coalition.
10 for the Hizbollah-led March 8 opposition.
5 assigned by the (neutral) President Michel Sleiman.
That means the opposition seems to lose its power to veto important decisions, because it will have less than one-third plus one.
But [...]

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The big message was this – we accept the result of yesterday’s election.
Nasrallah was magnanimous in defeat, although he did bring up accusations that March 14 have been paying for votes, and carrying out sectarian incitement.
He said March 14 accused Hizbollah of being incapable of accepting defeat – Nasrallah said he’d now proven that to be a [...]

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19,000 Lebanese expatriates from around the world have returned home to cast their votes.
Many of them have been given free tickets by the Future Movement (most likely paid with the Saudi money that was promised). Is this how desperate Hariri is to cling on to power?
Some have called for those who no longer live in [...]

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I don’t ever want to hear the tired old story that Syria/Hizbollah/(*insert bad guy here) brings bus loads of supporters to cheer at demonstrations.
Because Hariri’s thugs are PAYING for people to fly half way across the world in a desperate attempt at winning this election.
Who said you couldn’t buy votes in Lebanon!
“Corporate sponsors are paying [...]

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EXCLUSIVE TO THE SYRIA NEWS WIRE
Amin Gemayel has apparently signed-up for Twitter. And in an exclusive interview with the Syria News Wire, he has revealed he could join a government led by the Hizbollah coalition.
First, a huge disclaimer, we have no way of knowing that this really is the man himself. Accounts have often been [...]

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Do the Der Spiegel allegations that Hizbollah killed Hariri actually change anything?
On one side, Hizbollah’s supporters argue that the article was an American or Israeli plot to make Hizbollah’s coalition lose the Lebanese elections (they are only slightly ahead in the polls).
And on the other side, Hizbollah’s enemies point and say ‘we told you so’. Abdul [...]

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