Introduction to the evening news 15-05-2012

Today, the situation in Tripoli oscillated between a vulnerable truce and a ceasefire, only to stabilize in the evening following the deployment of the LAF in the city’s neighborhoods.      

Also on Tripoli, the director general of the General Security Directorate Brigadier Abbas Ibrahim hinted that the arrested Shadi al-Mawlawi is affiliated with the al-Qaeda organization. “There is a big difference between Salafism and al-Qaeda; what we did is defend Tripoli’s residents, he said. When asked about al-Qaeda’s presence in Lebanon, he said that it was proven.        

As the storm eased in the north, it blew into the town of Hawch Al Sayyed Ali by noon on Tuesday. Tripoli’s events occupied the internal scene for the fourth day in a row, as the settlement of other issues was postponed in order to address the security situation in Tripoli. However, this does not mean that these issues were completely absent; Prime Minister Mikati who met with journalists at the Grand Serail for over an hour, stressed that the financial issue will be tackled tomorrow at the cabinet session. Mikati said that the draft law pertaining to the 8.9 trillion LBP is now in the custody of the Parliament, adding that the president took the decision not to sign it.       

The President raised the tone as he responded to Speaker Berri without mentioning his name. In fact, when Berri said yesterday that General Michel Aoun is wronged, the president replied: Yes, Aoun was wronged, but in previous eras, not in ours.