Introduction to the evening news 29-06-2012

Will the security plan be trapped by Sheikh al-Assir? Before the end of its first week, the plan fell in the trap of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir who diverted attention from Beirut to Saida, putting many people in trouble. If, according to the plan, cutting off roads is forbidden, why wasn’t it applied in Saida then? The political parties targeted by al-Assir’s direct campaign, such as Hezbollah and Amal Movement, did not even respond to him directly, but it seems they assigned Shaker al-Berjawi with this task. Therefore, the confrontation appeared to take place between Sunnis, which makes it easier to contain.       

Except for al-Assir, the plan’s effects began to show as field escalation receded and tires faded.  

Eyes turned to the Nejmeh Square as a general parliamentary session will be held on Monday and Tuesday. Today, State Minister Panos Manjian said that if the draft law to grant tenure to 2500 EDL contract workers was ratified, the concerned parties will lodge a constitutional appeal. Will the confrontation take place inside the cabinet before erupting at the Parliament?     

On Syria, talks will be held in Geneva tomorrow at a time when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the fact that important countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Syria’s neighbors such as Lebanon and Jordan were not invited.       

In Egypt, the newly-elected president Mohammed Morsy is expected to swear oath tomorrow. However, not wanting to wait until tomorrow, he took an informal oath of office a while ago in a speech to supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square. At some point, Morsy opened his jacket and told the crowd that he was not wearing a bulletproof jacket for he does not fear his people.