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.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbass said that he informed the cabinet that the foreign ministers of the countries hosting Syrian refugees will hold their next meeting in the northern city of Tripoli in September, noting that a ministerial committee will be formed in order to handle the preparations for the event.
In a statement to
an-Nahar daily, the minister said that he insisted that Lebanon should host the upcoming summit when he was representing Lebanon at the last meeting held in Jordan, adding that the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmad Davutoglu directly supported the Lebanese initiative.
The Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN, Sigrid Kaag, stressed that the majority of the Syrian chemical weapons have been destroyed, adding that they still have to make sure that the Syrian government complied with the program’s regulations.
In a statement to
an-Nahar newspaper, Kaag said that she will be visiting Syria in August, describing the cooperation with the Syrian government as “very constructive.”
Commenting on the possibility that non-governmental groups get hold of the chemical weapons, Kaag revealed that the International Community fears such a risk, pointing out that other countries may possess chemicals, not only Syria.
“The chemical weapons that were declared by the Syrian government have been destroyed,” she stated.
Sources close to the Association of Muslim Scholars stressed that they will continue to exert pressure in order to urge the authorities to finalize the files of the detainees who were arrested during the Tripoli clashes as a prelude for their release, threatening to implement escalatory measures during the last days of the Holy Month of Ramandan and during Eid al-Fitr.
The same sources told
as-Safir daily that the association will not engage in confrontations with the Lebanese Armed Forces or other security forces, block roads or carry out any movement that may harm the city of Tripoli.
Al-Akhbar daily reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled his visit to Riyadh, after learning that Saudi Arabia is preparing to propose an offer to validate the presence of PLO members at the Rafah border crossing, where a new operation aiming at disarming Hamas and the Jihadists, is to be implemented.
The sources noted that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates plan to settle all the expenses of the mission.
According to the information made available to the newspaper, Abbas considers the Saudi offer a form of political suicide that it aims at undermining inter-Palestinian national reconciliation, which may consequently foment strife.