Skip to main content

inadaily.com Will a new, Syria-free government bring prosperity to Lebanon?

inadaily.com | Article service:

"Will a new, Syria-free government bring prosperity?
The Daily Star Middle East | Osama Habib

Beirut

BEIRUT: The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the subsequent withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon were seen as a sign of change in a country gripped by numerous political and economic problems. For the first time in 15 years the Lebanese are, in theory, free from Syrian hegemony.

Many Lebanese, especially the anti-Syrian opposition, partially blame Lebanon's slow GDP growth and high public debt on Syrian meddling in local political affairs.

Now that the Syrians are out and the Lebanese are in full control of their destiny, the question everyone asks is: Will the new government be able to bring prosperity to Lebanon?

Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, a trusted friend of the late Hariri, is now in the driver's seat thanks to the landslide victory in the last parliamentary elections of Hariri's son Saad and the backing of the U.S. and France.

To encourage Siniora to implement ambitious economic reforms, the West promised to provide assistance to Lebanon if a viable plan is presented to donor countries.

The amount of assistance was never disclosed, but some sources said that Lebanon may get a soft loan similar to the one offered to the late Hariri during the November 2002 Paris II conference.

But Hariri, who received $2.5 billion in a soft loan to reduce debt servicing, failed to implement any of the promised reforms due to conflicts with Damascus-backed President Emile Lahoud and his supporters.

The U.S. and France will not accept any more excuses for delaying reforms now that the Syrians have left, and the two countries have made this clear to Lebanese politicians.

The other challenge the new government will eventually tackle is the remaining clauses of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which call for the disarmament of Hizbullah and the Palestinian groups in the refugee camps."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insulin Resistance- cause of ADD, diabetes, narcolepsy, etc etc

Insulin Resistance Insulin Resistance Have you been diagnosed with clinical depression? Heart disease? Type II, or adult, diabetes? Narcolepsy? Are you, or do you think you might be, an alcoholic? Do you gain weight around your middle in spite of faithfully dieting? Are you unable to lose weight? Does your child have ADHD? If you have any one of these symptoms, I wrote this article for you. Believe it or not, the same thing can cause all of the above symptoms. I am not a medical professional. I am not a nutritionist. The conclusions I have drawn from my own experience and observations are not rocket science. A diagnosis of clinical depression is as ordinary as the common cold today. Prescriptions for Prozac, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, etc., are written every day. Genuine clinical depression is a very serious condition caused by serotonin levels in the brain. I am not certain, however, that every diagnosis of depression is the real thing. My guess is that about 10 percent of the people taking ...
5 comments
Read more

Could Narcolepsy be caused by gluten? :: Kitchen Table Hypothesis

Kitchen Table Hypothesis from www.zombieinstitute.net - Heidi's new site It's commonly known that a severe allergy to peanuts can cause death within minutes. What if there were an allergy that were delayed for hours and caused people to fall asleep instead? That is what I believe is happening in people with Narcolepsy. Celiac disease is an allergy to gliadin, a specific gluten protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. In celiac disease the IgA antigliadin antibody is produced after ingestion of gluten. It attacks the gluten, but also mistakenly binds to and creates an immune reaction in the cells of the small intestine causing severe damage. There is another form of gluten intolerance, Dermatitis Herpetiformis, in which the IgA antigliadin bind to proteins in the skin, causing blisters, itching and pain. This can occur without any signs of intestinal damage. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is a similar autoimmune reaction to gliadin, however it usually involves the...
19 comments
Read more

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed

Blue-blocking Glasses To Improve Sleep And ADHD Symptoms Developed Scientists at John Carroll University, working in its Lighting Innovations Institute, have developed an affordable accessory that appears to reduce the symptoms of ADHD. Their discovery also has also been shown to improve sleep patterns among people who have difficulty falling asleep. The John Carroll researchers have created glasses designed to block blue light, therefore altering a person's circadian rhythm, which leads to improvement in ADHD symptoms and sleep disorders. […] How the Glasses Work The individual puts on the glasses a couple of hours ahead of bedtime, advancing the circadian rhythm. The special glasses block the blue rays that cause a delay in the start of the flow of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Normally, melatonin flow doesn't begin until after the individual goes into darkness. Studies indicate that promoting the earlier release of melatonin results in a marked decline of ADHD symptoms. Bett...
Post a Comment
Read more