The Phalange Party warned on Monday against trying to maneuver around the 1960 law before reaching consensus over a new draft, urging the adoption of the Baabda Declaration's principles after the formation of a new cabinet.
"There is a wrong spread impression that a new law has been adopted through aiming at postponing constitutional time limits while the 1960's law has not been replaced yet,” the party said in a released statement after the political bureau's weekly meeting.
Full StoryProgressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Monday his commitment to staging the parliamentary elections on time.
He rejected “political maneuvering over the 1960 electoral law until an agreement over a new one is reached.”
Full StoryHead of Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Monday said Hizbullah is seeking “stability and calm,” noting that the “national interest government” suggested by Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam “opens the door to a serious and honest dialogue.”
“We are seeking stability and calm and we know how to evaluate and calculate things,” Raad said at a memorial service in the southern town of al-Babliyeh.
Full StoryMarada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh noted on Monday that past experiences have demonstrated that a technocrat government in Lebanon will fail in meeting its objectives.
He said before a delegation of Marada Movement members from the region of Keserouan: “A technocrat government cannot be formed during this critical time in Lebanon.”
Full StoryThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed on Monday its "keenness on continuing the development of its distinguished relations with Lebanon”, expressing its hope that the assignment of PM-designate Tammam Salam to form the cabinet will contribute to the “stability and prosperity of the country”.
"We are keen on continuing the improvement of the special relations with have with Lebanon,” the Saudi cabinet said in a released statement.
Full StoryInterrogations with an armed group accused of attempting to smuggle arms to “extremists” over the weekend kicked off on Monday.
According to the state-run National News Agency, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr supervised the preliminary investigations with the armed gang.
Full StoryThe families of the Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria last year prevented on Monday Syrian workers from heading to their workplaces in Shwaifat as part of the pressure exerted on them to release their loved ones.
The National News Agency said the relatives of the nine pilgrims stopped the Syrian laborers from entering factories and shops in Shwaifat's Tiro area.
Full StoryAn experts committee, tasked with probing the fraud case at al-Madina Bank, handed over on Monday General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi a report that includes the names of the suspects that received suspicious funds.
The state-run National News Agency reported that the preliminary report cites the names of 411 identified suspects, who received fishy funds from al-Madina Bank.
Full StoryMaronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi revealed on Monday that all political parties were exerting efforts to strike a deal on a hybrid vote law after the four major Christian parties decided to suspend the Orthodox Gathering proposal.
“The hybrid electoral draft-law is everybody's demand,” said al-Rahi at Rafik Hariri International Airport before traveling to France.
Full StoryThe number of Syrian refugees, who fled the turmoil in their country to Lebanon, has soared to more than 400,000, the weekly report for the U.N.'s refugee body said on its weekly report on Monday.
According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees the number of registered refugees reached 12,000 during the past week, with 262,000 refugees already registered and 140,000 in the process of being registered.
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