Press Digest for Wednesday January 08, 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.

• Minister Mansour: Zarif’s visit is not related to al-Majed’s death   
  

Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour said on Wednesday the visit of his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the 13th of January is not related to the dossier of Majed al-Majed.                           

In this regard, Minister Mansour told Al-Joumhouria newspaper that the latter’s comes in the framework of relations between Lebanon and Iran.

Minister Mansour added that he did not receive any Iranian request asking to participate in investigations carried out to reveal the circumstances behind al-Majed’s death, stressing that the request he received was before the latter's death.                     

• Berri: A cabinet formula excluding Hezbollah is not accepted 

House Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday that Lebanese officials are exerting their utmost efforts to form a new cabinet.                    

Berri told An-Nahar newspaper that he will welcome all cabinet formulas expect a formula that excludes Hezbollah, adding that "previous experiences in Lebanon proved that no party can exclude the other."                   

In this regard, Speaker Berri noted that the latest contacts with the Future Movement were positive seemingly since some officials from the said movement rejected the formation of a cabinet without Hezbollah.           

Berri also told As-Safir newspaper that contacts are ongoing between various Lebanese factions, stressing that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt is putting forth all his efforts to form a cabinet agreed upon by all Lebanese sides.        

Berri added that he is cooperating with MP Jumblatt along with other officials, expressing his astonishment that some March 14 officials are accusing him of working for the benefit of Hezbollah at a time when he is working for the entire Lebanese nation.                   

• Security sources deny presence of 3 booby-trapped cars in Lebanon 

Security sources denied on Wednesday information pertaining to the presence of 3 booby-trapped cars in the streets of Beirut, stressing that the said announcement was not made by the Ministry of Interior.             

The sources added to An-Nahar newspaper that Lebanese citizens should only take into consideration announcements made by the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces, denying that any security apparatus circulated a list of booby-trapped cars in Lebanon.              

• March 14: Berri’s proposal “a ticking political bomb”-Sources                  

March 14 sources told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa that House Speaker Nabih Berri’s proposal to hold early presidential elections is a “ticking political bomb”.       

The sources added that this political bomb is directed towards the Maronites since they are directly concerned with the Taef Agreement which underlines the importance of co-existence.