Former French PM acquitted on smear charges

In a setback for President Nicolas Sarkozy that could reshape the French political landscape, a court here on Thursday acquitted the former prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, of charges that he was part of a conspiracy to smear Mr. Sarkozy and sabotage his election in 2007. NYT

Lebanon emergency cabinet session at the Grand Serail

The emergency cabinet session has started at the Grand Serail and is being chaired by PM Saad Hariri. The cabinet is expected to discuss the latest development of ET409 crash and the Municipal elections

Lebanon ISF unit to travel to Ethiopia to collect DNA samples

A specialized Internal Security Forces forensic unit will  travel to Ethiopia in the coming two days to collect DNA samples from the families of the victims of the Monday morning crash of  Ethiopian flight ET409 , National News Agency (NNA) has reported. According to the NNA, the Prosecutor General Office requested the unit to travel to Ethiopia.

Hariri returns to Beirut from Cairo

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri returned to Beirut from Egypt  where he was on an official 2 day visit . In Egypt he met with President Hosni Mubarak and his Egyptian counterpart  Ahmad Nathif and several key Egyptian officials and discussed the situation in Lebanon and the region . Hariri is expected to chair a cabinet meeting Thursday  at the Grand Serail to discuss the latest development with regards to Ethiopian Airlines crash and the proposal on Municipal election that will be presented by Interior Minister Ziad Baroud

Change of command at UNIFIL

Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta Cuevas of Spain assumed the command of The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano of Italy.

In a farewell speech during a ceremony at UNIFIL Headquarters in Naqoura, Graziano looked back at his three years in command of UNIFIL, pointing to major improvements in the situation on the ground in south Lebanon.

The ceremony was attended by several Lebanese and foreign officials including Defense Minister Elias Murr, Spanish Defense Minister Carmen Chacon Piqueras, Italian Deputy Defense Minister Giuseppe Cossiga, Lebanese Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, Italian and Spanish Chiefs of Defense, General Camporini and General Rodriguez Fernandez, Members of Lebanese Parliament, senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces and many others. Asarta, in his first speech recalled his previous stint with UNIFIL as Sector East Commander from December 2008 to April 2009.

“We are here to assist the parties to maintain the cessation of hostilities and to move forward towards a permanent ceasefire,” said Asarta. He added: “In this spirit, I shall do my very best to ensure the successful implementation of our mandate in southern Lebanon.”
Following his meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Carmen Chacon Piqueras on Thursday, President Michel Suleiman commended the efforts made by Spain on all levels, especially its participation in UNIFIL and its leadership of the forces in 2010.

ET409: USS Ramage picks up signals from black boxes

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) issued a statement on Thursday that the  United States  vessel USS Ramage picked up signals on Wednesday night from the  flight recorders (black boxes ) of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET409c  which plunged into the Mediterranean Sea Monday morning off Lebanon’s coast.

The statement added that a civilian vessel was dispatched to the site where the boxes are believed to be to retrieve them.

PM Hariri accompanied by his wife during his visit to Egypt

Prime Minister Saad Hariri is in Cairo on an official 2 day visit for talks with top officials, including President Hosni Mubarak.

Hariri was accompanied for the first time by his wife Lara, who lives in Saudi Arabia with the couple’s three children.

Hariri started his visit with a bilateral meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Nazif.

The visit also comes a day after an Egyptian prosecutor demanded the death sentence for 26 alleged members of the so-called Hezbollah cell in Egypt.

Lebanon cabinet to hold an emergency meeting Friday

The Lebanese cabinet is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting Friday to look into the latest developments with regards to the Ethiopian plane crash and to discuss the proposal of Interior Minister Ziad Baroud regarding the Municipal elections

ET409 crash: Baroud says no evidence of any act of sabotage so far

Lebanon’s Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Ziad Baroud, said he still does not   understand the mystery of the issue of the abduction of  Joseph Sader , pointing out that all available evidence shows that he is a decent human being who is in good standing .

Regarding the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 409 ,  Baroud said the serious  search continues for the victims , the wreckage and the black boxes and cautioned against jumping into any conclusions before the black boxes are found . He said the reports that circulated about a possible sabotage without any proof could ” lead to catastrophic consequences.”

Baroud explained that the investigation   so far did not reveal any  act of sabotage, even at the technical level. He pointed out that Lebanese army officers  are directly involved in all the operations of the US battleship, adding that the crisis requires the  help   of  expertise not available locally and stressed the need to “trust the state “

Lebanese army identifies location of ET409 wreckage and black boxes

The  Lebanese army has identified the location of the flight recorders   ( black boxes)   and the wreckage of the  Ethiopian   as being about 8 km ( 5 miles )  from the Beirut  airport and at  a depth of 1300 meters ( 4262 ft).  New TV has reported   that  these need  highly sophisticated and technologically advanced  equipment in order to be recovered  and their recovery  will take several days