Press Digest for Saturday June 07, 2014

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.

• Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmi: Egypt will recover its political and economic role in the region

Egypt's Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmi told An-Nahar newspaper on Saturday that Egypt pins hopes on the election of the new president Abdel Fatah al-Sissi.

He also noted that Egypt will recover its political and economic role in the region.

As for Lebanon, Fahmi warned against the dangers of instability in the country, voicing confidence in the Lebanese government to find a solution for Lebanon's crisis.

• Minister of Justice Rifi: Ministries of Justice and Interior are deploying efforts in term of Lebanon's security

Minister of Justice Ashraf Rifi told An-Nahar on Saturday that the Ministries of Justice and Interior are deploying utmost efforts in term of Lebanon's security.

He also noted that he paid an official visit to Kuwait to push its citizens to spend the summer in Lebanon, adding that he asserted to Kuwaiti officials that Lebanon is safe for tourists.

• World powers say Lebanese presidential elections must be held before parliamentary vote-sources

Diplomatic sources told An-Nahar newspaper on Saturday that the world powers refuse to hold the Lebanese parliamentary elections before the presidential bid.

The same sources added that the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai agreed with the US Secretary of State John Kerry on the necessity of holding the presidential elections "as soon as possible."

 

• Future movement puts presidential elections on top of its priority-sources

Sources told An-Nahar newspaper on Saturday that the Future movement will not agree on naming Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun as "consensual president" without the consent of the Christian figures in the March 14 camp, mainly Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Kataeb party leader Amine Gemayel.

The same sources added that the Future movement is adamant on holding the presidential elections before the parliamentary polls.