Saudi air strikes target Yemen rebels along the border

Saudi warplanes struck areas controlled by Shiite Muslim rebels along the border with northwestern Yemen, according to the insurgents, who said they killed eight Yemeni soldiers in clashes.

The rebels, known as Houthis after the family of their leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said Saudi jet fighters carried out 25 raids today on the Shada, Ghamr, al-Malahid and al-Dhahir districts of Yemen’s Saada province. Four houses were destroyed and two women injured in the village of al-Farha, the rebels said in a statement. Bloomberg

Double bombing in Iraq kills 32

A double bombing Friday in the southern city of Karbala killed at least 32 people and wounded over 100 as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims commemorated a major Shiite Muslim holy day.
The attack took place at the eastern entrance to the city as pilgrims from around Iraq were leaving the commemorations in the city center. First a car bomb exploded near a hospitality tent erected to offer refreshments, killing 10 people, according to Karbala police. Moments later a suicide bomber driving a car plowed into the carnage left by the first explosion, and killed another 22.
It was the third major attack against pilgrims this week, and coincided with a sharp escalation in violence ahead of crucial national elections due in March. LAT

Christian – Muslim Dialogue committee to meet Saturday

The Christian – Muslim Dialogue committee announced in a statement late Friday that it will hold an emergency meeting with the Archbishop of Beirut , Bishop Boulos Matar to express its solidarity with him and to condemn the abuse by a journalist of Saudi Arabian newspaper “Okaz” . The meeting will be held at 10 am Saturday at the Maronite Diocese of Beirut in Ashrafyieh , Al Hikmeh School Street

Lebanon Mufti: The equal Muslim-Christian powersharing should not be undermined

Grand Sunni Mufti of Lebanon Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani phoned Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir congratulating him on returning safely from his visit to the Vatican. The two religious leaders stressed during the phone call upon “the common national stances that guarantee Lebanon’s unity.”
The Mufti also told Sfeir that “the Taef Accord must be implemented in text and spirit upon the rule of consensus and that the equal Muslim-Christian powersharing should not be undermined under any condition,”

Suleiman: “Abolishing political sectarianism must preserve equal Muslim-Christian powersharing

President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday stressed during his meeting with the new council of the Lebanese Bar Association that “abolishing political sectarianism must preserve diversity and equal (Muslim-Christian) powersharing which leads to the preservation of the coexistence charter that distinguishes Lebanon and gives legitimacy to all institutions.”