Rai Calls for Freeing Lebanon From 'De Facto Influence'

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai speaks during Sunday’s mass in Bkirki. NNA
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai speaks during Sunday’s mass in Bkirki. NNA
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Rai Calls for Freeing Lebanon From 'De Facto Influence'

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai speaks during Sunday’s mass in Bkirki. NNA
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai speaks during Sunday’s mass in Bkirki. NNA

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai called on Lebanon’s political parties to support the government in implementing reforms and “free the state's decision from the influence and interference of de facto forces.”

During Sunday’s mass sermon in Bkirki, Rai said rival parties should cooperate to help the government achieve the required reforms.

“We all have the duty to distinguish between what is positive, and cooperate to promote it; and what is negative, to work together to correct it,” the patriarch stressed.

“This is what we expected from last Wednesday’s consultative meeting at the Presidential Palace, to study the draft economic rescue plan, before its submission to Parliament in its full form,” he added, referring to last week’s meeting that gathered the heads of political blocs to discuss the cabinet’s reform plan.

As he welcomed the move taken by the government, Rai emphasized that the government had local and external obligations.

“Internally, it has a duty to look into citizens’ urgent affairs and take swift measures to solve their financial, health, environmental, and living problems, in addition to unemployment, hunger, and poverty,” he said.

He continued: “Externally, the government should accelerate the completion of the reform plan and submit it to Parliament for approval, in order to be able to conduct constructive negotiations … especially with the International Monetary Fund.”

The Maronite patriarch finally urged the political parties to “encourage and support the government in achieving the required reforms” both locally and externally, and “free the state’s decision from the influence and interference of de facto forces and strengthen Lebanon’s relations with its surroundings and with the international community.”



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.