Press Digest for Tuesday May 8, 2012

In an article published in the Lebanese daily As-Safir Tuesday, security sources claimed that the Italian container ship which is a subsidiary to “Grimaldi” arrived from Germany at Tripoli Port Monday. The ship was said to have been loaded with several vehicles, toys, carpets and other merchandise.          

Upon exiting the port, 2 vehicles that were unloaded from the ship, were subject to routine inspections by the LAF, and 15 weapon crates were found.     According to As-Safir, the vessel had sailed from Italy to Germany, followed by a stop at Alexandria Port prior to sailing towards Tripoli. This has raised several questions especially in regards to whether this ship has any connections to the “Lutfallah2” ceased last week.         

The “Lutfallah2” was intercepted on Friday, because of suspicions that it was carrying 3 containers of weapons headed to Syria, security sources said.                 
The vessel "Lutfallah2", which bore the Egyptian flag, was forced to dock at Selaata port, 50 kilometres north of Beirut, where its cargo was inspected.         

The ship originally set sail from Libya and called at the north Egyptian port city of Alexandria.          

In an article published in Al-Liwaa Daily Tuesday, Minister of Cabinet Khaled Al-Daher stated that Hezbollah has not complied with the Doha agreement and has yet to apologize for the May 7th events, adding that Hezbollah’s emblem of “resistance” has become nothing but a hollow slogan that is only used to justify the use of arms on the internal Lebanese scene at the beck and call of the Syrian-Iranian axis.        

In his concluding remarks, Al-Daher stated that a neutral government should be formed, adding that the current government under Prime Minister Mikati, cannot be trusted with the 2013 parliamentary elections.        

Member of Parliament Marwan Hamadeh has dubbed the victory of François Hollande, the newly elected French President, as a “Parisian” spring and a return to “normal” rule in France.       

In an article published in Al-Mustaqbal Daily on Tuesday, Hmadeh said that Hollande’s position in regards to the Syrian issue is reassuring, stating that Hollande will be more firm.       

As for Lebanon, Hmadeh said, that France has always had solid stances in regards to Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence and democracy. He also reassured that France will stand firm with the STL and upholding UNSCR 1701.         

The Lebanese Daily As-Safir mentioned on Tuesday, that officials from the U.S. Treasury Department and from the World Bank visited Beirut and met with a number of prominent Lebanese figures, including a former Minister of Finance. The visit came within the context of raised concern over the Lebanese financial front in light of the continuous political discord over the issue of fiscal spending and the threats which follow.       

According to As-Safir, the former minister of finance which remained un-named reassured the visiting figures that Lebanon is not a bankrupt state. He also called on Washington to exercise pressure on the political powers that oppose Prime Minister Mikati in order to facilitate his work.