The Maronite Bishops Council voiced on Saturday its concern with the ongoing crisis in Syria and the political deadlock in Lebanon.
It said in a statement after its annual retreat in Bkirki and headed by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi: “We call on all sides to stop pouring fuel over the fire raging in Syria.”
Full StoryInterim head of the opposition Syrian National Council George Sabra accused the Syrian regime of attempting drag Lebanon into the conflict in his country and by involving Hizbullah in the crisis, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper Saturday.
He told the daily: “The Lebanese government must assume its responsibilities and prevent Hizbullah from fighting in Syria and meddling with the fate of the Syrian and Lebanese people for the sake of regime that will inevitably collapse.”
Full StoryPrime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is expected to relaunch a new round of efforts to form a new government by continuing his meetings with top officials, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper Saturday.
It revealed that he is scheduled to hold talks with President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday at the Baabda Palace.
Full StoryReports that Lebanon has filed a complaint to the U.N. Security Council against the Syrian violations were foiled Saturday when sources of the British mission at the council assured otherwise, As Safir daily said.
Britain, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council has not received so far any formal complaint from Lebanon against the violations. The information was also confirmed by sources of the Lebanese delegation at the U.N., added As Safir.
Full StoryThe March 14 forces have completed a memorandum on their position on Hizbullah's fighting in Syria, reported the daily An Nahar Saturday.
It said that the memorandum will likely be submitted to President Michel Suleiman soon.
Full StoryTwo people were wounded on Friday as nine rockets fire from Syrian territory landed in the Bekaa city of Baalbek, shortly after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed in a speech to put an end to rocket attacks against the Baalbek-Hermel region.
“Five rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border fell on the Baalbek area of al-Kayyal,” state-run National News Agency reported.
Full StoryFormer prime minister Saad Hariri snapped back on Friday at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, accusing him of replacing the entire Lebanese state with “Hizbullah's Shura Council.”
Nasrallah “showed skill in exploiting the pains of those who were wounded in the confrontations with the Israeli enemy to cover up for the involvement in fighting against large segments of the Syrian people,” Hariri said in a statement issued by his press office only hours after a speech by Nasrallah marking the Wounded Resistance Fighter Day.
Full StoryCaretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Friday called for an end to the “incitement” campaigns, warning that Lebanon is facing “very grave threats” that require an “extraordinary posture.”
“We must put an end to the campaigns of political and sectarian incitement, because we are facing very grave threats, and regret will not be useful if we provide an incubator for these threats,” Miqati said in a speech at a school ceremony in Tripoli.
Full StoryThe Independence Movement on Friday hit back at Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, accusing him of forgetting “a country called Lebanon” and voiced surprise that he linked the anniversary of the assassination of his father Tony Franjieh to the battle of “blood and shame” in Qusayr.
Franjieh “has crossed the ethical limits and the most basic rules of political conduct,” the Independence Movement said in a statement.
Full StoryThe U.N.'s top human rights forum on Friday condemned the involvement of foreign fighters in Syria's civil war, singling out the pro-regime forces sent across the border by Lebanon's Hizbullah.
The 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council backed a resolution from the United States, Britain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, with 37 votes in favor, nine abstentions and just one member, Venezuela, against.
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