News Briefs

• 3:43 pm⋅Sun ⋅ Jumblatt -Aoun coordinating activities in Municipal election
  Ad-Diyar: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun are coordinating mechanisms for municipal elections through joint committees in several towns in the Mountains.
• 2:20 pm⋅Sun ⋅ Khoury: Lebanese-Syrian border demarcation committee to meet soon
  New TV:   Secretary General of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council Nasri Khoury said that Syria maintains its position on agreeing to demarcate its borders with Lebanon starting in the north, however, it rejects demarcating the borders at Shebaa Farms, since the area is still occupied. Khoury said the committee tasked with border demarcation will meet soon to proceed with the matter.
• 10:59 am⋅Sun ⋅ Suleiman to meet Obama in December
  Al Hayat:  President Michel Suleiman is expected to visit Washington next month for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama and other top officials to discuss  bilateral ties and U.S. military assistance for Lebanon. Suleiman official  4 day visit is expected to take place starting Dec. 10
• 10:43 am⋅Sun ⋅ Sayegh: The government not united on issue of Hezbollah arms
  Social affairs Minister Salim al-Sayegh told  Future TV: The government is united on all clauses except for clause number 6 which deals with resistance ( Hezbollah)  and arms.
• 6:30 am⋅Sun ⋅ Russia says a bomb caused the deadly train derailment
  Russian authorities say terrorists planted a device on the tracks that detonated under the high-speed Nevsky Express carrying more than 650 passengers from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• 12:57 am⋅Sun ⋅ Zardari gives up control of Pakistan’s nuclear arms
  The embattled president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has handed control of the country's nuclear arsenal to his prime minister in an attempt to boost his popularity.
• 11:12 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Situation with Iran resembles build up to the invasion of Iraq
  Five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have now joined forces against Iran. China and Russia had previously resisted taking action against Iran have now joined forces with Britain, France, Germany and the United States. This looks so much like the build up to the invasion of Iraq with harder sanctions on the horizon and followed with what could inevitably be military action. Source: The Palestine Telegraph
• 10:52 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Qabbani : We should first eliminate political sectarianism from our hearts and minds
  "Future," MP Mohammad Qabbani told OTV "that the formation of the committee for abolition of political sectarianism will not abolish political sectarianism, but will examine the method of how to gradually eliminate it," and stressed "the necessity of eliminating it from our hearts and minds before eliminating it from the laws."
• 10:50 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Lebanese American man kills 4 relatives in Florida
  Authorities in Florida were searching on Saturday for Paul Michael Merhige, 35, a Lebanese American man police said opened fire on his family after Thanksgiving dinner and killed four people, including his pregnant sister and a 6-year-old cousin who was sleeping in her bed.
• 8:41 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Customs revenues on the rise, up 83% in 2009
  Customs revenues reached $1.53bn in the first 10 months of 2009, up 83% from $837m in the same period last year, Byblos Bank's Lebanon This Week stated. Custom revenues reached $165.8m in October 2009 compared to $156.5m in September and to $104.8m in October 2008. The Port of Beirut continues to be the main point of customs receipts, accounting for 89% of the total in October 2009, and was followed by the Hariri International Airport with 5.8%, the Port of Tripoli with 2.5%, and the Masnaa crossing point with 1.8%. Overall customs receipts reached $2.68bn year-to-October when including revenues from the value-added tax that totaled $1.15bn over the covered period. Source: iloubnan.info
• 6:25 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Edde: The ministerial policy statement legitimized Hezbollah’s political and military roles
  National Bloc leader Carlos Eddeh Congratulates Hezbollah on its victory in the drafting of the policy statement , saying it legitimized their political and military roles. Edde: The ministerial policy statement legitimized Hezbollah's political and military roles
• 4:50 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Dubai faces default test Monday With Islamic bond payment
  Debt-laden Dubai World's unit Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, or Jafza, faces on Monday a coupon payment on a 7.5 billion UAE dirham ($2.04 billion) Islamic bond in the first key test of whether it will default. Sourse: Dow Jones
• 4:46 pm⋅Sat ⋅ 3 Americans killed in cargo plane crash in Shanghai
  A Zimbabwean-registered cargo plane en route to Kyrgyzstan crashed on take-off in Shanghai on Saturday, killing three US crew on board and triggering a fire, state media and a US spokesman said. Source: Reuters
• 4:43 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Iran may withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
  Iran's parliament may consider withdrawing the country from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in response to a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog censuring Tehran over its nuclear program, a hardline lawmaker said Saturday. Source: AP
• 4:13 pm⋅Sat ⋅ L.F. criticises insertion of ‘ resistance’ in ministerial policy statement
  Lebanese Forces stated after its meeting in Maarab: Inserting the word "resistance" in the sixth article of the ministerial policy statement was to bypass the negotiating table and to preempt its decisions
• 4:02 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Traces of explosives found in the wreckage of derailed Russian train
  Russian news agencies are reporting that investigators have found traces of explosives among the wreckage of a train that derailed, killing at least 26 people. The reported discovery appears to buttress initial fears that the deadly derailment on the Moscow-St. Petersburg line Friday night was a terrorist attack caused by a bomb planted on the tracks. Source: AP
• 2:50 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Baroud visits Jumblatt in Moukhtara
  Interior Minister Ziad Baroud visited PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt at his mansion in Moukhtara in the Shouf region of Mount Lebanon to wish him well on the occasion of Eid el Adha .
• 2:50 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Sakr: The timing of the issue of abolishing political sectarianism is bad
  March 14 MP Okab Sakr said that while he fully supports the elimination of political sectarianism, the timing of the issue is bad. Sakr denied reports of any disputes within the March 14 alliance, in particular between the Future Movement and the Kataeb Party. “Anyone who tries to isolate any member of the March 14 alliance, be it Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel or Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, will fail because he will have to isolate all of Lebanon before isolating them.”
• 1:10 pm⋅Sat ⋅ Arslan: FPM is essential to the return of the displaced to the mountain
  Following his reconciliation meeting in Khaldeh with MP Arlan General Aoun said : “My visit was to wish happy holidays to a key partner in the Change and Reform Bloc.” Arslan said : The Opposition alliance is strategic. The FPM is essential to the return of the displaced people to the mountain.
• 11:55 am⋅Sat ⋅ Lebanese Forces meeting in Maarab
  Samir Geagea, leader of the the Lebanese Forces is chairing a party meeting at his residence in Maarab to discuss the current developments.
• 11:23 am⋅Sat ⋅ Khazen: Aoun will visit Arslan in Khaldeh today
  New TV: MP Farid Al-Khazen said that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will meet with Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan on Saturday in Khaldeh for reconciliation and to congratulate him on Eid Al-Adha.
• 10:40 am⋅Sat ⋅ 16 Lebanese army soldiers wounded in bus accident
  Sixteen Lebanese army soldiers were wounded Saturday when a bus taking them from Tripoli to Beirut toppled. The injuries ranged from fractures and bruises to burns as a result of the accident. Local media reported that one of the tires of the bus exploded.
• 10:33 am⋅Sat ⋅ Rifaa rejects Berri’s call for a committee to abolish political sectarianism
  Hasan Rifaa, a Constitutional expert told VDL: Berri’s call for the creation of a committee for the abolishment of political sectarianism is rejected in form and content.
• 7:07 am⋅Sat ⋅ Yaqoub: This is a legendary council and not a constitutional one
  Former MP Hassan Yaqoub in response to Issam Suleiman : This ( constitutional council) is a legendary council and not a constitutional one . Yaqoub , who lost the election has contested the results of the polls
• 6:58 am⋅Sat ⋅ Hariri and Nasrallah will be meeting within days
  Political observers: PM Saad Hariri and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will be meeting within the coming few days
• 6:55 am⋅Sat ⋅ Hariri: I will be the prime minister of all of Lebanon
• 6:51 am⋅Sat ⋅ Russian train crash kills 25, injures 87
• 6:48 am⋅Sat ⋅ Russia and China endorse I.A.E.A’s Rebuke of Iran
• 6:41 am⋅Sat ⋅ Tiger Woods is just fine
• 9:56 pm⋅Fri ⋅ HRW: Syria is hostile to any Kurdish political or cultural expression
• 8:59 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Stocks, Crude oil & gold down in reaction to Dubai debt crisis
• 8:54 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Khazen: The issue of abolishing political sectarianism is very sensitive
• 8:46 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Ministerial meeting Wednesday to adopt the policy statement
• 8:37 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Azour: Impact of Dubai’s financial crisis on Lebanon will be minimal
• 8:11 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Lebanon & the Islamic world celebrate Eid el Adha
• 7:58 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Adwan: We wanted a ministerial Policy Statement that was clear
• 7:49 pm⋅Fri ⋅ IAEA board has censured Iran for its nuclear program
• 7:41 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Dubai’s debt may worsen to become a ‘major sovereign default’
• 5:54 pm⋅Fri ⋅ UNIFIL :No official confirmation that Israel will withdraw from N. Ghajar
• 4:15 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Najjar: Abolishing political sectarianism could lead to more sectarianism
• 1:31 pm⋅Fri ⋅ Constitutional Council chief says the council is independent
• 11:04 am⋅Fri ⋅ Mitri:The current statement has more respect for international resolutions
• 10:12 am⋅Fri ⋅ Sunnis and Shiites differ on issue of abolishing political sectarianism
• 7:11 am⋅Fri ⋅ Most Christian parties oppose abolition of political sectarianism
• 7:02 am⋅Fri ⋅ Rifi: Al Qaeda does not constitute a real threat to Lebanon
• 6:22 am⋅Fri ⋅ Obamas’ party crashers prompt an Inquiry
• 10:05 pm⋅Thu ⋅ Fatfat: General Rifi does not follow the instructions of Quraitem
• 8:42 pm⋅Thu ⋅ 4 Lebanese Hajj pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia due to natural causes
• 7:34 pm⋅Thu ⋅ Phalange quits March 14 to follow an independent path
• 5:52 pm⋅Thu ⋅ European banks face potential losses on $40 billion in exposure to Dubai