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.
Preparations for the parliamentary session scheduled for next
week kicked off, amid hopes that a new electoral law will be passed; otherwise
the term of the parliament will be technically extended for few months.
In this context, parliamentary sources told
al-Joumhouria Daily
that, should the political parties fail to find a new electoral draft law during
the upcoming days, Speaker Nabih Berri will start the vote on the Orthodox
Gathering draft law, since it has acquired the approval of the majority during
the last session held by the parliamentary subcommittee. The sources expected that
the future bloc and March 14 MPs will withdraw from the session which may lose
quorum, leading Speaker Berri to resort to other alternatives.
In this context, diplomatic sources revealed that an
American-European activity is being carried out in order to prevent the
Lebanese parties from reaching political confrontation in regards to the issues of
the electoral law and cabinet formation.
On the other hand,
al-Joumhouria reported that the
Prime Minister-Designate is set to declare the formation of his cabinet on Tuesday,
which will be comprised of 24 ministers, without the participation of March 8
forces.
Deputy Speaker Farid Makari said that the statements voiced on
Thursday by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah concerning the Lebanese
field reflect the intention of his party to "keep complicating the situation, through
opening the door for a long extension for the parliament’s term in case the
Orthodox Gathering draft law was not approved."
Makari told
an-Nahar Daily that Nasrallah hindered the
negotiations pertaining to the formation of the cabinet by imposing the
conditions of his coalition, stressing that Nasrallah’s cabinet of national
partnership or unity, is nothing but a "cabinet of challenge".
The Lebanese Armed Forces leadership declared that the
Intelligence Directorate arrested on the 6th of May members of a “suspicious
gang” with a number of explosive devices in their possession.
In this context, security sources told
al-Akhbar newspaper
that the detainees were storing explosives in the region of Ain al-Remmaneh,
before transporting it to Arsal and then to Syria.
According to the sources, the investigations have not yet
revealed whether or not the detainees were planning to carry out operations
inside the Lebanese territories.
Sources
told
an-Nahar daily that the Change and Reform bloc met with the Kataeb party
upon the request of the bloc’s head MP Michel Aoun, noting that the bloc’s
members directly met the invitation of the Kataeb without any delay.
The
sources added that the discussions during the meeting were positive, pointing
out that both parties were well aware of the necessity of reaching common
grounds during this critical stage in order to prevent any strife from breaking out.
MP Elie Marouni said that the meeting held between the
Kataeb bloc and MP Fouad Siniora comes within the framework of continuous cooperation
and discussions with the Future Bloc, stressing that the Kataeb party is keen
on reaching a new electoral law in coordination with its allies from March 14
and other political parties. He pointed out that all the parties are seeking a law
which commits to the Constitution and fairly represents the Christians.
In a statement to
al-Liwaa Daily, Marouni hoped that the
parties will reach a new draft law based on the hybrid law, in order to be
voted on alongside the Orthodox draft law.
On the other hand, Marouni revealed that the Kataeb party is
set to hold an extended meeting on Tuesday, in order to define a unified stance
over the parliamentary session.