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Watkins Meets Berri, Lauds his Efforts in Settling Dispute over STL Funding

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins stressed on Monday the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Lebanon at this time of dramatic changes in the region.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh: “In that regard, I very much welcomed the role that the speaker played last week in finding a solution to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. His role was very much appreciated by the United Nations.”

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Sarkozy Invites Miqati to France to Congratulate him on STL Funding

French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton revealed on Monday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati had received an official invitation from his French counterpart, Francois Fillon, to visit France.

He said after meeting the premier that President Nicolas Sarkozy would be happy to meet Miqati to congratulate him on the decision to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

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Bassil: We Will Not Remain Silent over Zahrani Power Plant Shutdown

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil condemned on Monday the shutdown of the Zahrani power plant, describing it as an attack against state institutions.

He said during a press conference: “We will not remain silent over the incident.”

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Lebanon Files Complaint against Israel for Shelling the South

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry filed on Monday a complaint with the United Nations against Israel for shelling southern Lebanon in November.

The ministry accused Israel of violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

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Sanctions-hit Syria Eyes Lebanon, Iraq Corridors

As Syria staggers under unprecedented Arab and global sanctions, Lebanon and Iraq are poised to provide economic corridors for their crisis-hit neighbor without explicitly breaching the restrictions, experts say.

"Lebanon and Iraq could turn into Syria's lungs, as it were, allowing it to breathe under the sanctions," said Lahcen Achy, economic analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center.

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False Witnesses Debate Revived

The controversial false witnesses issue in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination emerged to the surface again after PM Najib Miqati announced paying Lebanon’s dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

“It’s still too early to decide on the issue,” Miqati’s visitors told An Nahar newspaper on Monday.

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Ban in Beirut in January to Discuss STL, Resolution 1701

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon is set to visit Beirut in January as part of his tour to the region - his third trip to Lebanon, a source in New York told An Nahar newspaper.

Contacts are underway between Lebanese authorities and the U.N. Secretariat to set the date for his visit either on the first or the second week of January, the sources said.

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Report: Indictment in Hamadeh’s Murder Attempt to be Issued in Dec.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen is expected to issue an indictment in the assassination attempt of MP Marwan Hamadeh this month, informed sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Monday that the indictment will be issued before Christmas.

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Geagea Links Zahrani Plant Shutdown to Lassa, Tarshish Violations

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea linked the shutdown of the Zahrani power plant to the attack on a clergyman and the media in Lassa and the attempt to expand Hizbullah’s telecom network in Tarshish.

“What happened in Zahrani is part of the events in Lassa and Tarshish” and the repeated violations of the Syrian army of Lebanon’s border, Geagea told al-Joumhouria daily published Monday.

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Berri Threatens to Debrief Cabinet if Oil Exploration Delayed

Speaker Nabih Berri warned on Monday that he will call for a parliamentary session to inquire the cabinet about Lebanon’s offshore oil wealth project.

“After the Special Tribunal for Lebanon crisis was resolved, the cabinet should turn to the oil (exploration project) … I will not accept any delay,” Berri told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

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