A parliamentary session aimed at discussing a number of draft-laws is expected to be postponed for the fourth time on Tuesday, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday.
It said that Speaker Nabih Berri is likely to postpone the two-day session in order to avoid further tensions in Lebanon in light of the ongoing political disputes and security unrest.
Full StorySecurity information revealed on Monday that some members of the car bombing ring detained on Sunday are supporters of Islamic cleric Ahmed al-Asir, the As Safir daily quoted well informed sources on condition of anonymity.
Eight people, of Lebanese and Palestinian nationalities, were found involved in the scheme to detonate a booby-trapped car found in Naameh neighborhood in South of Lebanon in another location, the source added.
Full StoryPresident Michel Suleiman canceled a scheduled vacation in light of the recent security developments in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday.
It said that he canceled his plans after receiving “worrying information” on the security situation in the country from the Internal Security Forces.
Full StoryPrime Minister-designate Tammam Salam stressed that he is seeking to form a government that includes all Lebanese factions, saying that he does not want to eliminate any side from power, reported the daily An Nahar Monday.
He told the daily however that the developments over the past few months “have demonstrated that the powers have no intention to facilitate the formation of the cabinet.”
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati agreed with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to carry on consultations over the safe release of two Turkish Airlines pilots, media reports said on Monday.
Miqati stressed during a telephone conversation Sunday night with Davutoglu that the Lebanese state is fully carrying out its tasks to swiftly end the case of the abducted pilots and the remaining nine Lebanese pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz, As Safir newspaper reported.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on Monday President Michel Suleiman and Tammam Salam to swiftly end the cabinet formation process, pointing out that the matter hasn't reached a deadlock yet.
“Those who are concerned with the matter, including Suleiman and Salam, are exerting efforts to form the government as soon as possible,” Geagea said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.
Full StoryFive rockets landed in and around the Bekaa town of Hermel, a Hizbullah stronghold, on Sunday, a security source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.
"Two rockets landed in the town of Hermel, in an area between the Mabarrat teaching association and the Masharii al-Qaa area, causing no casualties," the source said.
Full StoryIn a show of defiance, a young man and a young woman on Sunday held a symbolic wedding ceremony in the bomb-hit neighborhood of Ruwais, which witnessed Thursday a devastative bombing that left 27 people dead and around 300 wounded.
The couple's wedding had been previously scheduled for Sunday, but they refused to change it in the wake of the deadly blast.
Full StoryThe Directorate General of Internal Security Forces on Sunday announced that the detainees held in connection with the case of the two abducted Turkish pilots are in “good health,” noting that their relatives are allowed to visit them after obtaining a permission from the public prosecution.
“Some media outlets are still publishing news obtained from non-credible sources about the health of one of the detainees, whom they claimed Roumieh Prison's physician had refused to examine due to multiple fractures allegedly sustained from abuse during interrogation,” the ISF said in a statement.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed relief on Sunday over the measures undertaken by the Lebanese army to control the situation in the northern city of Tripoli, stressing that all officials fully support the military in its actions.
Miqati called in a statement issued by his press office the army command to intensify the measures in the Tripoli to comfort the citizens in the northern city, which image was tarnished by the absurd battles.
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