Latest news with #AlJadeed
L'Orient-Le Jour
09-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Frangieh: Assad regime was a dictatorship, but it protected minorities
Thursday evening, in an interview with the Al Jadeed channel, the head of the Marada movement, Sleiman Frangieh, spoke for the first time after several months of silence on the situation in Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, his historical ally, whom he considered a "friend." "I tell you that the regime that was in place was a dictatorship, that's true. We never defended it by saying it was a democratic regime," acknowledged the Maronite leader, while emphasizing that it is now necessary to "give the new regime time to see what happens" and his wish to see "Syria stabilize." 'I don't know a Christian who does not want to leave Syria' Frangieh was nevertheless alarmist about the fate of Syrian minorities, particularly Christians, estimating that they were safer under the Assad regime's rule than since its overthrow by the coalition of Islamist rebels led by the current interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. "Under Assad, there were two million Christians. Then, after the war started in 2011, they were between 500 and 600 thousand in the regions held by the regime. Now, they are only 100 to 150 thousand, and they all want to leave. I don't know a Christian who does not want to leave Syria," he said. "In Assad's time, no one was targeted for their religion. Someone could be targeted politically, but not for their religion, and that is no longer the case in Syria today," he added. Former President Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar come from the Alawite minority. Under the father's dictatorship, the regime bloodily suppressed a Sunni Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama in 1982. Under Bashar al-Assad's regime, thousands of opponents, mostly Sunni but also from other minorities, notably Christian, languished in the regime's prisons. Frangieh mentioned the communal tensions in Syria. In recent months, massacres have targeted the Alawite and Druze minorities in the country. "The other day, in the heart of Damascus, Sharaa's men killed, massacred people and they destroyed everything. A man in Hama was assaulted because his fiancée was with him in his car," he cited haphazardly to support his claim. "What is happening is not reassuring for all minorities in the region," he repeated. 'Signs of Syria's dislocation' The former Lebanese presidential candidate and favorite of the Shiite tandem Amal-Hezbollah also addressed Sharaa, while the latter was in Paris on Wednesday for an official visit to the Élysée Palace, to meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. "I expect President Ahmad al-Sharaa to implement his words. There can no longer be elements out of control [among Syrian security forces]. After a month, two months... six months, when will he discipline them?" he questioned. The head of the Marada, however, called for continued bilateral relations between Beirut and Damascus: "With whom should the Lebanese state speak on the subject of Syrian refugees or borders? With the Syrian state. There must be peaceful relations between the two countries," he said, before reiterating his doubts about the neighboring country's near future. "I do not see signs of a division of Syria, but rather of dislocation. And that would be very dangerous, as it could provoke a civil war that would make all minorities flee and destroy the country," he concluded. Historical ally of Bashar al-Assad, constantly repeating the "familial" nature of his relationship with the former Damascus ruler, Frangieh saw his presidential ambitions buried in the aftermath of the fall of the former Syrian regime, the main pillar of his regional support, after his ally on the Lebanese scene, Hezbollah, was significantly weakened by the war against Israel last year in Lebanon.
Al Bawaba
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Bawaba
Safaa Sultaan gains much weight, sparking health controversy
ALBAWABA - Jordanian actress Safaa Sultaan has been the talk of the internet following her latest TV appearance where she looked with a "puffy" face and unusual facial features. Safaa Sultaan attended as a guest with Lebanese TV show host Rabia Al Zayyat via the Lebanese channel, Al Jadeed, sparking wide controversy online regarding her unfamiliar look. During the episode, the Jordanian star defended her colleague, Syrian actress Deema Bayyaa, who landed in hot water following a viral video on TikTok. Jordanian actress Safaa Sultaan. (Al Jadeed TV Channel) Earlier, Syrian-Palestinian artist Bayyaa faced widespread criticism on social media after appearing in a TikTok video with a content creator who used obscene language and sexual connotations, pushing her fans to criticize her and accusing Deema of supporting and approving of the content. Sultan apologized to the public on behalf of Deema Bayyaa during a television interview, stressing that they share a strong friendship and that her friend did not intend to offend or provoke public opinion. Regarding the controversy about Deema Bayyaa, Safaa also grabbed attention during the apperance with Rabia Al Zayyat over the weight she has gained with people remembering Syrian actress Kinda Alloush, who also years ago appeared with much weight, but alter on she announced that she was suffering from cancer. Safaa Sultaan spoke up about her illnesses, uncovering that she is having from multiple chronic genetic diseases that are related to blood and that they have led her to gain this weight. The actress said that before being diagnosed with the diseases she used to suffer some seizures, but she was unaware of her illnesses. However, Sultan ditched all the rumors regarding her health and rejected claims that she has serious illness which could lead to a tragic condition and said that she is currently getting the right medical care for her genetic diseases and that she is doing fine. The star said in an earlier interview that she is suffering from multiple diseases, including Familial Mediterranean fever.
L'Orient-Le Jour
05-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Al Jadeed staff fear for safety following Nasrallah mausoleum report
BEIRUT — 34 employees working with the local TV station, Al-Jadeed, wrote a letter to the station's management expressing their fear for their safety, after a report was broadcasted on Friday criticizing the costs of former Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's mausoleum. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27, 2024, four days after the escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The nine-minute report angered Hezbollah's audience as it claimed that tens of millions of dollars were spent on purchasing real estate and constructing the mausoleum while, Hezbollah members whose homes were destroyed during the war remain without shelter or compensation. Following that, a campaign of incitement was launched against the channel, with some party supporters accusing it of promoting Israeli propaganda and inciting the population against Hezbollah. In the letter which protested the station's policy, the employees claimed that they are now in "danger," adding that threats are extending to their families and relatives as a result of the report. They also called on the management to "act as quickly as possible to resolve these issues to ensure the safety of all its employees." They emphasized that they do not interfere in the channel's policy and direction, but that their safety is at risk due to certain practices and the station's adoption of tendencies that could cause strife in the country. The report showed the properties that were earlier purchased and the names of their owners as well as the identities of some new owners. According to the report, "the funds did not enter through banking channels, but were provided through non-transparent Iranian funds and bags full of smuggled dollars.' According to the report, both the costs of purchasing the land for the project and of construction are estimated at $50 million each. The report also claims that the sale, purchase and transfer were not done legally as the Lebanese Ministry of Finance was not aware of them, adding that the buyer and seller only obtained authorization through the Hezbollah-controlled municipality of Burj al-Barajneh, an area in the Southern suburbs of Beirut. The report, which was aired as part of a talk show hosted by host Josephine Deeb, was not produced by Al Jadeed. Moreover, according to the local newspaper Al Modon, Al Jadeed clarified that the report was not endorsed by the channel. L'Orient Today contacted the station's administration and one of its journalists but they were not immediately available to comment. Reacting to these claims, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV wrote: 'Nine minutes of polished incitement, released by Al-Jadeed under the label of a journalistic investigation, appeared closer to a booby-trapped security statement, with no signature, no professional reference, and no minimum standards of accuracy. The report is filled with imaginary headlines that are not based on logic, ... aimed at fueling internal strife and incitement." Al Manar added that Al Jadeed does not have any proofs for its claims, adding that official maps and documents refute all these allegations. Moreover, on Saturday, Hezbollah MP, Ibrahim al-Moussawi, described the report as a 'qualified crime,' calling on the judiciary to take immediate action.
L'Orient-Le Jour
02-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Network coverage restored to 80% of areas in Southern Lebanon
BEIRUT — During a visit to Southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Minister of Telecommunications, Charles al-Hajj, told local television station Al Jadeed that network coverage has returned to 80% of areas in the South. He added that the remaining 20% is still without coverage, due to the destruction and the "continued Israeli occupation." Hajj is touring several Alfa, Touch and Ogero transmission stations in South Lebanon, damaged by the recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The tour aims to inspect the repair and maintenance work that has been carried out to return these stations to service and restore telephone and internet coverage in the affected areas. Hajj visited this morning the village of Rmeish (Bint Jbeil district), where he met with the village's representatives in addition to the Ogero Central in the area. The minister will be also visiting later on Wednesday Sour and Nabatieh. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel started in Oct. 2023, in parallel with the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, and escalated in Sept. 2024. A cease-fire agreement was reached in late Nov.2024, but it has since been violated numerous times. Although the Israeli army withdrew from Lebanese villages before Feb. 18, it is still present in five strategic points inside Lebanese territories. Around one week after the cease-fire agreement, former Telecommunications Minister, Johnny Corm, visited the southern suburbs of Beirut to inspect the Ogero telephone exchange (the office that manages fixed-line telephones and Internet in Lebanon) damaged by an Israeli strike in the Mrayjeh district. In an interview with Radio Sputnik quoted by the state-run National News Agency (NNA) back in December, the minister said that the total estimated damage to Lebanon's telecommunications sector due to the war was 'between $88 million and $117 million,' according to a preliminary estimate.
Al Bawaba
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
At least 4 killed in Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb
Published April 1st, 2025 - 06:18 GMT ALBAWABA - The death toll in the Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on early Tuesday morning has jumped to 4 people, Al Jadeed reported. The Israeli army announced, early Tuesday morning, that it had carried out an airstrike without prior warning targeting a Hezbollah member in the southern suburb of Beirut. The initial data revealed that the attack was directed by the General Security Service (Shabak). Earlier, the Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that three people were killed and four others wounded as a result of the Israeli aggression. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
