Press Digest for Sunday June 17, 2012

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. 

• Sioniora receives warnings against plans to assassinate him     

Sources close to the head of the “Future” bloc MP Fouad Siniora confirmed that Siniora received lately warnings from western and regional sources, alerting him of the need to take caution since there are plans prepared by parties with high security and logistic capabilities to assassinate him. The sources noted that the warnings came from many international and regional sides during the past few days.    

The same sources told an-Nahar daily that the information received also included warnings against plans to assassinate a list of other figures in order to create strife in Lebanon, pointing that four figures from the North are mentioned.             

• Naher al-Bared incident ended without leaving tails        

A Lebanese Army source said that Naher al-Bared incident ended and will not leave and tails related to the relationship between the army and the camp’s residents.         

The source told Acharq al-Awsat newspaper that the camp’s affairs are under control and that there is a total understanding between the Palestinians and the army, adding that the incident was treated at the highest levels.        

However, Palestinian sources stressed that the Lebanese Army’s reaction was quick and exaggerated leading to deaths in Naher al-Bared.          

The Palestinian sources told Acharq al-Awsat that no one wishes to disturb the relationship between the Lebanese Army and the camp’s residents, noting that what happened will not leave any tail. The sources pointed that the incident was directly treated by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who made his contacts with the Lebanese authorities and the Palestinian officials in Lebanon.             

• Sleiman makes arrangements for next dialogue session            

Official sources told al-Hayat daily that the President Michel Sleiman began making his arrangements for the “national dialogue committee” for which he called to convene on June 25. Sleiman had informed the committee’s members that they will be discussing the national defense strategy under three main headings which are the resistance weapons and how to use it positively, the Palestinian weapons outside refugee camps and finally the disarmament of spread weapons inside and outside of cities.            

• Disastrous effects of electricity crisis to appear next week  

Sources have warned of disastrous effects of the aggravation of the electricity crisis in the next few weeks, and that these effects are expected to have more damage on Lebanon’s tourism and to lead to terrible losses in the sector which is already suffering from the latest events that hit the country.             

The sources told an-Nahar daily that the cabinet was not able to ameliorate this situation quickly or to take precautions against the repercussions that could this crisis have on the tourism sector in Lebanon.