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.
MP Sami Gemayel told
An-Nahar daily on
Wednesday that the urgent draft law related to the suspension of the foreign
ownership law in Lebanon until a new law is issued, setting conditions for
foreigners to acquire the rights in rem, is very urgent “since the [Lebanese] lands
are being taken over by non-Lebanese”.
“What happened in Dlebta can be occur in any
region; it is high time to face this dangerous phenomenon”, he said.
Gemayel said that the issue of foreign
ownership in Lebanon and the possible amendment of this law are being discussed
for a while now. “However, it will take so much time if too many lands were
sold during this period”, he said.
According to Gemayel, the solution lies in a “long-term
rental” system to replace the sale of lands.
President Michel Suleiman told
As-Safir
daily on Wednesday, on the eve of his trip to the UAE, that the cabinet will
ratify the legal solution of the public spending issue during its session on
Thursday. “It will be a legal matter, not a settlement or a political solution”.
Suleiman said that until the draft
law of the 2012 budget is completed, an advance funding will be ratified to
address the ministries’ urgent needs, and will be referred to the Parliament. “I
think the MPs are not working to hinder the state’s affairs or public spending;
if any obstruction occurs, I will have to sign a decree for the issuance of
this advance funding in order to guarantee public order in the state’s
facilities”.
Suleiman added that
he has not yet received an official final answer on the call for dialogue from all
parties.
Suleiman said he is optimistic as to
the response of former PM Saad Hariri, adding “last Friday, when I met him in
the KSA, he told me that he needed to consult with his allies on the subject of
participating in the dialogue”.
Asked on the possible opposition’s consent to
participate in the dialogue, on the possible postponement of the dialogue and the
possibility of the formation of a new government, Minister of Energy Gibran
Bassil told
Al-Akhbar daily on Wednesday that these are all justifications they
use to hide the fact that they went back on their previous stances. "in fact, when
the KSA gives out orders, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and the Future
bloc cannot say no”.
As-Safir daily reported on Wednesday
that a meeting was held at the Patriarchal seat in Bkerke two days ago. The meeting
was headed by the head of the Episcopal Commission for Education, Bishop Kamil
Zeidan and was held in the presence of the Director General of Education, Fady
Yarak, the head of the private Educational Department, Imad Achkar, the director of Saint Joseph Shool in Aintoura, Father Antoine Nakad and the school lawyer. During the
meeting, participants discussed the latest findings of the inspectors in the
case of sexual harassment that took place in the Saint Joseph School - Aintoua.
Educatial sources told the
newspaper that the school will continue to scrutinize the case until the end in order to
determine responsibilities.
For more information on the
sexual harassment story, please click on this
link.