Introduction to the evening news 23-02-2012

Turmoil spread across Lebanon, from Sidon to Tripoli all the way to Baabda where a night curfew was imposed on foreigners.        

Sheikh Ahmad el-Assir told the story of a Flash Memory found today in a building in Sidon, including names, location names and weapons. He considered it as a proof that he is targeted by a group residing in two locked apartments located in the surroundings of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque. Sheikh al-Assir himself will be heading to the Martyrs Square tomorrow along with other Islamists to call for the release of Islamist detainees.        

However, it seems that not all the detainees need protests to be released. An armed group stormed into an Islamic hospital in Tripoli, releasing an injured detainee, wanted for opening fire on the convoy of Minister Faisal Karami among other charges.         

On a separate note, the Union Coordination Committee announced that it will take escalatory steps as of Monday and will test the private school teachers’ ability to join the sit-in along with their colleagues.          

On the political level, President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati reiterated their rejection of the Orthodox Gathering’s draft law. However, just as the sectarian effects of this law began to spur fanaticism, racist speeches began to emerge. In fact, Lebanese municipalities allowed themselves to impose a night curfew on foreigners, implicitly targeting Syrian nationals.        

However, no ministry interfered to settle this issue, just as the open-ended strike did not prompt the referral of the ranks and salaries scale to Parliament. 

All these developments and more in our detailed news bulletin.


To watch the Intro, click on the Video above