The following are summaries of today's
major stories published in the Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press
digest articles for content, giving English-language readers insight
into the various views expressed in newspapers across the Arab world.
Al Akhbar daily reported that a head of a chamber in the Court of First Instance resigned from the judiciary last week after he was accused of accepting bribery from a well-known businessman.
Sources following the case stressed that the concerned judge knew of a tape that shows him concluding a deal with the businessman and accepting large sums of money in return for issuing a verdict in his favor.
Speaker Nabih Berri told As-Safir daily that he will not waver on his decision not to meddle in the cabinet’s crisis, adding that Mikati’s decision to suspend the sessions is unjustified.
The Speaker’s visitors quoted him as saying that by refusing to sign the transportation fees decree, Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas is violating the government’s prerogatives.
“Such a violation could threaten the rules and procedures of the government”, Berri was cited as saying.
Berri considered that Nahhas’ stance could not be defended, adding: “The Prime Minister should have confronted this issue head on, had he wanted to activate the cabinet’s work. However, he chose the wrong place to do so”.
According to Berri’s interpretation of the constitution, if the President is bound to sign the decree within 15 days, logically and automatically the PM’s deadline must be shorter and that of the minister’s even shorter.
“Therefore, the concerned minister should sign the decree as soon as it is issued, regardless of his personal opinion”, Berri stressed.
Al Akhbar daily reported that a Middle East Airlines’ aircraft faced problems a few days ago during flight over the Cedars Mountains. The newspaper added that the pilot insisted on taking the wrong course despite his co-pilot’s warnings.
“The co-pilot suggested to take a less dangerous course”, Al Akhbar said.
The airplane’s rudder was damaged due to the judgment of the pilot who is close to the board’s chairman Mohammad Hout and one of the pilots who supported the chairman in his fight against the pilots’ strike.
Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas told
As-Safir daily that remarks on exchanging portfolios are no joke, warning that this issue will bear grave political repercussions. “The Change and Reform bloc will not accept that this change be imposed on it”, Nahhas said.
Nahhas added that by withdrawing trust from the Labor Minister, the parliamentary majority would be changing courses which also means that PM Najib Mikati’s cabinet will become threatened.
“If they can secure the two-thirds of votes in Parliament, let them sack me. But in politics, this means we are at a different state”, Nahhas said. “We are not anyone’s subordinates and we are not in a Gulf Emirate even if some are leaning towards this direction”, the labor minister added.
Nahhas said that he is not violating the constitution if he refuses to sign the wage decree issued by the cabinet, adding that on the contrary the constitution clearly stipulates that the minister represents the state’s administrations and has the duty to apply the law.
“If the government issues a decree that is a violation of the law and international treaties, the minister will make a mistake if he accepts to sign it”, Nahhas said.
As-Safir daily reported that relations between Speaker Nabih Berri and the Head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun are strained.
According to the local newspaper, ever since Aoun returned to Lebanon, relations between the speaker and the Free Patriotic Movement leader saw a lot of ups and downs.
The daily added that lately these relations have undergone numerous trials; the most delicate one must have been the issue of wage adjustment. Ain Al Tineh and Rabieh have clearly different approaches regarding this subject.
In fact, Berri considers that by refraining from signing the wage decree issued by the cabinet, Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas is violating the constitution, which will bear heavy repercussions on the cabinet’s work. Aoun, on the other hand, says that by refraining from signing the decree, Nahhas is protecting the constitution and laws and does not want his record to be tainted since he speaks in the name of reforms.
The newspaper added that until now the efforts of Hezbollah, mutual ally of both parties, have contributed to keeping these differences in check, adding that both sides fully realize that any dispute should remain within certain limits.
“This political cohabitation is a strategic necessity imposed by the current majority’s higher interest, regardless of the way both parties feel about each other. These interests mean that compromises and sacrifices have to be made when the moment of truth arrives”, the newspaper reported.
According to As-Safir, Berri tells his visitors that he is dealing with Aoun “as a Christian and national necessity to strengthen the resistance and relations with Syria”, therefore he is trying to be the bigger person and rise above all disputes because the priority is to promote readiness in the face of original threats and avoid wasting our energy on petty disputes.