Daily Star - Cabinet Approves Draft To Grant Foreign Husbands Residency After 1 Year Of Marriage

By Nafez Kawas Daily Star correspondent

BEIRUT: Cabinet approved Wednesday a draft decree granting foreigners married to Lebanese women a residency permit after one year of marriage as well as granting their children whether adults or minors a three-year residency. Tackling Thursday’s strike of taxi and public bus drivers, Minister of State Jean Hogassapian said government members stressed the importance of addressing the syndicate’s demands positively. He added that the Public Works and Transport Ministry concluded a comprehensive transportation plan to be proposed during upcoming sessions. Lebanese taxi drivers and public bus drivers will go on strike Thursday to protest the rise in gasoline prices and condemn Cabinet’s neglect of the ground transportation sector. Lebanese unions and syndicates for land transportation criticized during a news conference on Wednesday the constant stalling by the government in meeting their demands. On another note, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who headed the Cabinet meeting at the Grand Serail, informed government members on the outcome of his official state visit to Italy. Hariri said that he discussed with Italian top officials the ongoing Israeli threats, demanding a halt of violations to Lebanese sovereignty. The premier added that he discussed the possibility of providing the Lebanese Army and security forces with military aid. Hariri also slammed Israeli claims of Scud missile transfers to Hizbullah, stressing that it aimed to frighten the Lebanese as he played down the odds of an upcoming war under the current circumstances. Also, Hariri tackled the Lebanese delegation’s visit to Damascus, adding that the date of his upcoming visit to Syria would be set once discussions are concluded. The official Lebanese delegation tasked with re-evaluating Lebanese-Syrian bilateral deals held talks Monday with its Syrian counterparts to prepare for Hariri’s upcoming visit to Damascus during which he is expected to amend some bilateral pacts and ratify new ones if needed.