🌳 Students vote again

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Lebanese University Students to Vote After 17-Year Gap

• Lebanese University administration announced student elections will return on Friday, March 27, 2026, after a 17-year suspension caused by political instability.
• Traditional political parties dominated student councils for decades, essentially converting them into party extensions rather than independent student representation bodies.
• The Secular Club is fielding candidate Ahmed Daher in the Social Sciences Institute, promising to break traditional party monopolies over student spaces.
• Daher's platform focuses on improving university transport services, securing subsidized basic goods cards for students, and updating curricula to match job market demands.

The backstory: Student elections stopped around 2005 due to intense political divisions, security concerns, and the university's organizational crises—now they're back as a test of post-crisis democratic culture.

Why it matters: This marks a potential shift toward independent student politics at Lebanon's largest public university, challenging decades of partisan control.

Cabinet Erupts Over University Faculty Sectarian Balance

• A heated sectarian debate dominated Monday's Cabinet session over Lebanese University faculty appointments, with ministers using "harsh sectarian language."
• The proposed list of 1,653 professors for tenure included only 35% Christians, violating constitutional requirements for sectarian balance in Category One positions.
• The Cabinet approved the tenure process in principle but delayed reviewing names until a later session after the dispute extended the meeting until 11 PM.
• Faculty will be divided into four batches over four years, with 400 professors in each of the first three batches and remaining numbers in the fourth.

Zooming out: Even routine university appointments become sectarian battlegrounds, highlighting how Lebanon's confessional system paralyzes basic governance functions.

Southern Farmers Face $742 Million War Losses

• Lebanon's agriculture sector sustained $742 million in damages from Israeli attacks, with the South bearing the highest losses at $286 million.
• Farmer Ahmed Ismail from Aita al-Shaab lost his entire season after six plastic greenhouses burned, reducing his cultivation from 100 to 10 dunums.
• Israeli forces used approximately 284 phosphorous shells, burning around 47,000 olive trees and destroying crucial agricultural infrastructure across border villages.
• Government support remains limited to $300-800 cash payments and small olive saplings, inadequate for farmers who need immediate reconstruction capital.

What to watch: Whether international reconstruction funds will reach small farmers quickly enough to prevent permanent abandonment of border agricultural communities.

QUICK HITS

• Streets say no deal: Protesters blocked main Beirut roads Tuesday after Cabinet approved 300,000 LBP tax on every 20 liters of gasoline and raised VAT from 11% to 12% to fund public sector raises worth $800 million.
• Four-month disarmament clock: The army's second phase plan to expand weapon exclusivity from south of Litani to between Litani and Awali rivers will take four months, potentially extending based on resources and Israeli strikes.
• Washington wants written guarantees: US and regional actors are seeking security agreement with Lebanon requiring Hezbollah commitment not to attack Israeli settlements, with mechanism ensuring inability to use weapons in future phases.
• Media law meets reality: Parliamentarians and journalists held first formal confrontation over media law after 16 years of committee transfers, debating civilian courts jurisdiction and problematic Article 106 maintaining criminal prosecution powers.
• Patriarch meets Sheikh: Armenian Patriarch Aram I received delegation representing Lebanon's Shiite spiritual leader Sheikh Ali Khatib Tuesday, discussing strengthening inter-communal cooperation possibilities across Lebanon's diverse religious landscape.

INTERNATIONAL

Oscar-Nominated Iranian Filmmaker Released from Prison

• Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer of Oscar-nominated "It Was Just an Accident," was released Tuesday from Iranian prison after 17 days detention for condemning Supreme Leader Khamenei.
• Mahmoudian was nominated for best original screenplay alongside director Jafar Panahi, with the film also competing for best international feature as France's submission.
• Two other signatories of the anti-regime statement, Vida Rabbani and Abdollah Momeni, were also released on bail from Nowshahr prison Tuesday.
• Director Panahi criticized the regime for criminalizing "thought, silence criticism, and instill fear in society" through charges of insulting the supreme leader.

The bigger picture: The release highlights ongoing tensions between Iran's artistic community and authorities amid continued crackdowns on dissent following recent nationwide protests.

Bank of Beirut UK Completes Core Banking System Upgrade

• Bank of Beirut UK completed a 15-month migration to Temenos Core Banking and Payments platform, upgrading from legacy infrastructure to support expanded corporate banking operations.
• The upgrade provides unified services for retail, commercial, and deposit operations, plus enhanced trade finance capabilities for clients across UK, Europe, Africa, and Middle East markets.
• Implementation was delivered in partnership with LTIMindtree, aligning the UK subsidiary more closely with parent Bank of Beirut's existing Temenos relationship.
• CEO Sophoklis Argyrou said the modernization allows the bank to "scale our trade finance business and strengthen our corporate and retail banking proposition" with improved efficiency.

What to watch: Whether the technology upgrade enables Bank of Beirut UK to successfully expand its corporate banking footprint in competitive international markets.

US Immigration Judge Blocks Palestinian Student Deportation

• Immigration judge rejected Trump administration's attempt to deport Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian activist arrested for Gaza genocide protests.
• Mahdawi, a lawful permanent resident from occupied West Bank who lived in Vermont for 10 years, was detained April 14 at citizenship meeting.
• The decision was made "without prejudice," meaning Trump administration could refile deportation case against the philosophy student and Palestinian society founder.
• Human rights advocates describe the targeting of foreign-born student activists as campaign to chill free speech on university campuses nationwide.

Zooming out: The case reflects broader tensions over campus activism and immigration enforcement as universities face federal investigations over pro-Palestinian protest movements.

GHER HEK

• Ramadan begins tomorrow: Both Shiite cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and Mufti Abdellatif Deriane announced Wednesday, February 18, marks the first day of Ramadan, with Eid al-Fitr falling on Friday, March 20, 2026.
• Love's sacred geography: Damascus couples still meet at "Lovers' Staircase" in Bab Touma and "Lovers' Garden" on Haleb Street, where romance blooms under jasmine trees and couples carve promises into ancient stones.
• Ramadan drama returns: Lebanese television prepares for the holy month with two major series—"Bil Haram" starring Maggie Bou Ghosn on MTV and "Ser w Kadar" featuring the late Fadi Ibrahim's final performance on LBCI.
• Basketball blues continue: HOMENETMEN Antelias suffered their 9th loss of the season to Centrale this week, while their football team lost 3-0 to a superior Ijtimahi side, proving that sometimes being good just isn't enough.

Yalla, go make tonight's iftar memorable.