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.
The guests of Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam quoted the
latter as saying that he will not resign, but will wait until after the
parliamentary session in order to take the appropriate decision based on the
session’s outcome.
The sources told
al-Joumhouria Daily that Salam has
accomplishment many phases related to the cabinet formation, pointing out that
next week will be decisive in this regard, noting that the 24-minister cabinet
will not include candidates for the parliamentary elections. Salam’s visitors
noted that the issuance of the lists of candidates has facilitated the task.
Security sources told
al-Akhbar Daily that the Syrian
air force carried out on Tuesday afternoon, three overflights where it
shelled bases for armed groups in the mountainous region between Arsal and al-Qaa.
The shelling targeted rocket launchers which
were prepared to launch missiles toward Lebanon's Hermel.
Well-informed political sources told
al-Akhbar Daily that Tripoli’s
recent clashes will not end until the approval of the extension for the
Parliament’s mandate, noting that the majority of the leaders in Bab
al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen have stressed that they will not end their battles
before Friday.
The sources accused the "political class" of participating in
the latest events in Tripoli which was chosen, among other regions marked by
political and sectarian tension, to be the field for volatile security events
aimed at acting as an excuse to delay the parliamentary elections.
The sources added that the political parties forming the
said “class”, including March 14, 8 and the centrists, were proven to be
involved in the clashes by attacking the Lebanese Army and preventing it from implementing
its security plan which remains unfulfilled.
The same sources accused the politicians, mainly from the
Future Movement, of failing to provide a political cover for the Lebanese
Army allowing it to perform its security role.
An-Nahar Daily reported that MP Fouad Siniora exposed the
outcome of his meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri during a meeting held by
March 14 leaders in Beit al-Wasat.
Sources from the meeting noted that the discussions mainly tackled
the issue of the parliamentary elections, where the conferees agreed that
adopting the 1960 electoral law is a 4-year extension to the parliament’s term.
They also agreed on the fact that holding the elections amid the current
situation is a “risky venture”, stressing the need to prevent
political void which can lead to “the legalization of the use of weapons and chaos.”
The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri expects a spillover of
the Syrian war into Lebanon, since the political parties have not
committed to the implementation of the dissociation policy, expressing his
concern over the shelling witnessed by a number of Lebanese border towns.
Assiri stated that political analysis revealed that the Syrian
regime is controlling the Lebanese scene in a number of regions, in order to
divert attention from the events taking place in Syria and to send a message to
the Lebanese people warning them that "no one is safe".
In a statement to
al-Hayat Daily, the Saudi ambassador
stressed that Saudi Arabia supports unity and consensus between the political
parties in Lebanon, without interfering in its internal affairs, noting that
the Kingdom is cooperating with the Lebanese authorities in an attempt to evacuate
Saudi nationals from danger zones in Syria and Lebanon.