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.
Sources from the Syrian opposition declared that the
coalition is considering changing the head of the interim government Ghassan Hitto, and appointing another leader "who receives the agreement of all the
opposition forces".
In a statement to
Acharq al-Awsat Daily, the sources said
that Dr. Ahmad Tohme is most likely to replace Hitto, noting that Tohme has
been the Secretary of the Damascus Declaration National Council which was
formed in 2005 against the regime of President Bashar Assad.
Another opposition source in Turkey said that the position of
head of the interim government is a delicate position and must be agreed upon
by all forces, pointing out that, although Hitto was active, he was not
appointed by consensus.
Well-informed sources told
al-Hayat Daily that the
discussions over the formation of the cabinet
have not yet reached the stage of naming the ministers and distributing the
ministries.
However, the Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam is insisting on
a government of 24 ministers, while March 8 forces insist on adopting the
"traditional way" of distributing the ministries among the political forces.
The same sources quoted Speaker Nabih Berri as saying that “he
fully trusts Salam” in his cabinet formation mission.
Parliamentary sources stressed that the initiative of MP Elie
Ferzli to garner an agreement between Rabieh and Maarab started with a phone call
between head of the Change and Reform Bloc MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces leader
Samir Geagea.
The sources told
al-Hayat newspaper that the meeting held between Geagea and
caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil on Monday, in the presence of MP Elie
Ferzli and Lebanese Forces MPs George Adwan and Elie Keyrouz, comes within the
attempts carried out to find a way out of the crisis, while Ferzli stressed
that the meeting aimed at defining a unified position over the Orthodox
gathering electoral draft law.
The Muslim Scholar Sayyed Ali al-Amin reiterated his rejection to Hezbollah’s intervention
in the Syrian events to prevent the Assad regime from falling, warning against
the repercussions of the Syrian war on Lebanon.
In a statement to
al-Mustaqbal Daily, al-Amin said that “Sayyidah
Zienab” does not need bloodshed to be committed to defend her shrine in
Damascus, but calls for unity among Muslims, expressing his surprise toward the
fact that religious officials in Iraq and other Islamic countries have not
issued fatwas (edicts) to ban fighting among Muslims.
On the other hand, al-Amin called for declaring a state of
emergency in the border regions with Syria to prevent arms smuggling.