Introduction to the evening news 04-11-2012

Through his visit to Lebanon, French President Francois Hollande voiced his country’s rejection of any attempt to destabilize Lebanon, stressing that France is determined to protect Lebanon in the face of dangers resulting from the Syrian crisis. Hollande then headed to Jeddah where he discussed Syria and Iran in a bid to repair the mistakes made by Sarkozy’.        

 Besides the political nature of this visit, French presidential sources hinted at a 2 million Euro deal to modernize the Saudi fleet by a specialized French company.          

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri attended the lunch banquet held by King Abdullah in honor of the French President.      

The international competition over Syria is no longer a secret; at a time when Hollande is holding talks in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to arrive in Jordan tomorrow. He will be visiting Gulf countries in the middle of this month.         

While the Syrian crisis topped negotiations in Jeddah and Beirut, Qatar held a decisive meeting with the Syrian National Council a few days prior to a meeting due to be held next Thursday in a bid to prepare for a transitional government.         

In Lebanon, the situation between the opposition and the majority remained unchanged at a time when President Michel Sleiman is sparing no effort to convene the dialogue table.        

Separately, Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian Church named a new pope on Sunday. Bishop Tawadros, 60, was chosen in an elaborate mass where a blindfolded boy drew the name of the next patriarch from a crystal chalice.          

Lebanon lost two important figures: writer and poet Younis Al Ibn, writer of Wadih Safi’s song “Lobnan Ya Koteet Sama” and the former president of the Order of Engineers and Architects, Assem Salam who was known for his fight to preserve Beirut’s heritage.


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