188 news for the 2nd, 5th, 17th, 21st of every month
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De Clerck and Malsagne date the start of bread rationing to September 1975.
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Formed in September 1975 through Syria's foreign minister Abdel Halim Khaddam, the National Dialogue Committee of some twenty leaders debated secularism and ending sectarian quotas; Hanf says it broke up empty-handed.
\_this day in full the books also date it 20 October 1975 \_on this day
Sabri Hamadeh, a legendary figure on the Lebanese political scene and an independence hero, died from a heart attack. He was 74 years old. He was born in 1902 in the Hermel and entered the political arena very early. In 1925, he was elected for the first time deputy of the Hermel. His mandate was renewed several times. In 1944, he became President of the Parliament. In addition, he had been repeatedly vice-president of the Council, as well as Minister of Interior and Minister of Public Works and Transportation. He was titular of several honorific distinctions such as the great cordon of the National Order of the Cedar.
According to some sources, the Phalange Party succeeded in evacuating some of its militiamen who took with them seven dead bodies, three of which were young girls. According to other sources, 65 militiamen were able to run away using an underground passage. The Holiday Inn had been subject to repeated assaults for the past ten months.
\_this day in full the books also date it 20 March 1976, 22 March 1976 \_on this day
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Mourabitoun and Palestinian fighters, backed by Lebanese Arab Army artillery, took the 24-storey Holiday Inn after a fight waged floor by floor, day and night, from 20 to 22 March 1976 (Traboulsi dates the fall to 22 March). The Kataeb withdrew to the Fattal building near the port. The five-month Battle of the Hotels was over, and Beirut was split along the Green Line.
\_this day in full the books also date it 31 March 1976, 9 April 1976, 10 April 1976 \_on this day
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Parliament used the truce to amend Article 73 of the constitution so that Frangieh's successor could be elected early: on 9 April according to Hanf, 10 April according to Yara El Khoury. The truce had coincided with the arrival on 31 March of the US envoy Dean Brown.
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Sudan supplied the Arab peace force's first contingent, some 2,000 men, and Libya the next (Hanf).
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Hanf writes that once Jisr al-Pasha fell on 1 July the Palestinians struck in the north, taking coastal Chekka from Tripoli by way of the Koura, with massacres, looting and arson. A Lebanese Front counter-attack with army tanks reached Tripoli's outskirts.
\_this day in full the books also date it 12 August 1976 \_on this day
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Hanf has the Syrian army moving again only once Tal al-Za'tar had fallen, increasing pressure on the encircled Palestinian and leftist forces in the Upper Metn; these were expelled at the end of September.
While shells kept falling by hundreds on residential neighborhoods in Beirut, killing and injuring tens of persons, an Arab summit was held in Ryad attended by Presidents Elias Sarkis, Anwar Sadate, Hafez El Assad, the Emir of Kuwait, King Khaled of Saudi Arabia, and Yasser Arafat chairman of the PLO.
This meeting aimed at reaching an agreement ending the Lebanese crisis. It contained the following clauses:
•Starting October 21, putting a final end to fights on all the Lebanese territory.
•Reinforcing the Arab Peace Force in Lebanon
•Entrusting the Arab Strike Force counting 30,000 men, with the duty of ending the combats and repressing any party that violates the cease-fire. It was also in charge of executing the Cairo agreement, as well as maintaining security in the country, collecting heavy armaments and helping the Lebanese authorities to regain control of all public services and institutions.
\_this day in full the books also date it 15 October 1976, 16 October 1976, 18 October 1976 \_on this day
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Ratified by an Arab summit in Cairo on 25 October, the Riyadh decisions required all parties to surrender heavy weapons and the Palestinians to return to the zones granted by the 1969 Cairo Agreement, and created a 30,000-man Arab Deterrent Force under President Sarkis, its largest contingent by far, 25,000-27,000 men, being the Syrian troops already in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia had sent the invitations on 15 October; the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon met the PLO chairman in Riyadh on 16, 17 or 18 October, depending on the historian. The cease-fire's start is dated 16 October (Hanf), 21 October (Traboulsi) or 15 November (de Clerck and Malsagne).
In a vibrant call to the Nation at the occasion of Independence Day on the 22nd of November, the President of the Republic called all Lebanese to unite around him in order to build a new Lebanon. He declared that he was sure Lebanon would put up with the challenge caused by the crisis. The President underlined the need for an absolute preservation of security, paying homage to the role played by the Arab Dissuasion Force. The President spoke mainly in his speech about the reconstruction efforts and the boosting of the economy. He also expressed his wish to see neighboring countries assist Lebanon by providing the necessary assistance and facilities.
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Colonel Jean Germain Salvan was badly hurt in both legs in early May, Fisk writes, when dissident PLO gunmen fired on the Fatah jeep carrying him, killing a French soldier and his Palestinian driver; Arafat called it a crime. Hanf adds that such losses made the French unit much more careful.
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Hanf writes that the Lebanese Front was left with an enclave of roughly a tenth of Lebanon once Syrian troops had moved into the northern Christian mountains, Koura, Batroun and the coast as far as the Madfoun bridge. Frangieh gave Kataeb members in the north until the month's end to give up their weapons and quit the party, or else leave.
All sides seemed decided to wait for important regional developments to unfold in order to re-evaluate the situation and define the course of action. The situation was very tense in the South where the Israelis were shelling the Hasbaya region.
A feminine walk was taking place in Furn el Chebbak and Ain el Remmaneh to celebrate mother's day and the international year of the child. Demonstrators brandished banners claiming, among other things, security in the Southern suburbs, an army presence, the return of displaced persons, the indemnification of bombardment victims, and reconstruction loans.
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