Hariri cancels sponsorship of a university conference

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s media office issued a statement on Thursday which stated that he will no longer sponsor a conference on Lebanese premiership at the Antonine University after one of its directors insulted him as well as the cabinet.

The university director made offensive comments on the February 14 commemoration of former PM Rafik Hariri’s assassination, former PM Salim Hoss as well as Hariri himself , said the statement.

Several ministers, including former PM Fouad Siniora, and other MPs reportedly withdrew from the conference following the incident.

Update: The University official that caused the cancellation of the sponsorship is: Pascale Lahoud, Deputy Vice President for Cultural Affairs…

The insult: During her speech on Thursday, Lahoud cited an article published by the Amsterdam-based U.S. newsletter “Leadership Quarterly” that said Rafik Hariri was a “productive and efficient leader. He was also corrupt, but not more than other leaders in the Lebanese society, and of course, not more corrupt than his rival Salim Hoss.”