Introduction to the evening news 25-02-2012

As the Syrian regime failed to carry out a conclusive military attack against Homs before a referendum on the new constitution, the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis also failed to agree on a unified plan of action to be immediately implemented.     

While the referendum’s result is quasi-predictable, the fate of the decision to arm the Syrian opposition remains uncertain.     

Reuters quoted diplomats in New York as saying that the Arab League is divided between countries supporting the opposition armament as well as the toppling of Assad, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and other countries fearing that such a move would trigger sectarian violence that could extend to Iraq and Syria.     

The Syrian situation, which casts a shadow over other regional crisis, might speed up parallel moves notably in terms of the confrontation with Iran.    

The U.S. has drawn up plans to boost its defense means around the Strait of Hormuz in preparation for any military attack against Iran.    

As for the Lebanese scene, General Michel Aoun has not yet given the green light for the parliamentary committee to kick off its work in order to reach a formula to legalize the extra-budgetary spending between 2006 and 2011 as proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, the cabinet will be subject to the test of “the renewal of coexistence” starting Monday.     

However, the appointments issue which was behind the suspension of the cabinet session a month ago, was not included in the cabinet agenda, knowing that the president is still adamant to adopt the mechanism that was previously agreed upon.