Introduction to the evening news 05-01-2012

The President of the Republic admitted that the worst problem he has faced during the last four years is the issue of appointments. Sleiman insisted that he will submit a constitutional amendment draft for appointments before the end of his mandate because the current process which involves garnering a 2/3 majority would obstruct the draft.          

On the presence of al-Qaeda in Lebanon, President Sleiman assured that the cabinet will tackle it calling on concerned parties to assume their responsibilities and avoid stances which could be interpreted as sympathetic to al-Qaeda.           

With the exception of the president’s positions, everything remains as is in Lebanon. The wages and diplomatic appointments remain in the cabinet’s drawer. “The oil exploitation bids will be touched on in three months in order to proceed with the contracts’ signature in the second half of this year”, Energy Minister Gebran Bassil told Reuters.         

In Syria, calls for resorting to the U.N. Security Council persist as the opposition called for protests tomorrow under the slogan “We demand internationalization”. Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani discussed with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York a potential U.N. assistance in the framework of the observers’ mission, admitting that they made some mistakes due to their of experience.          

This statement comes few days ahead of the ministerial committee meeting in Cairo scheduled for Sunday, which is expected to call for an emergency meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on the same day.           

Some Arab League officials said that countries such as Sudan, Jordan, Egypt and Algeria are concerned over ending the monitors’ mission for fear that its failure leads to a western military intervention in Syria.            

The Syrian issue was prevailing over the Iranian-Turkish meetings in Tehran today. Both countries are trying to win ground in Iraq where blasts rocked Shiite regions, having divergent opinions on the situation in Syria and sharing concern over the Kurdish issue. The Turkish mediation in the Iranian nuclear issue is brought back to the spotlight following a western request.