Saturday, March 31, 2007

  BEIRUT: Hizbollah’s number two said on Friday that the resistance group welcomes the presence of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "as long as it abides by its missions and does not overstep its jurisdiction." In an interview with Sawt Ash-Shaab radio station, Sheikh Naim Quassem said that the presence of UNIFIL troops in South Lebanon "is welcome – provided that the peacekeeping force supports the Lebanese Army in preventing any armed presence and preventing Israel from attacking the South."

"Hizbullah does not have any problem with UNIFIL… [and] the relation remains positive," Qassem said.

Friday,March 30,2007

 JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday there was a "revolutionary change" in the perception of Arab states toward Israel, Israeli media reported.

"There is a process here that the fighting in Lebanon (last year) has sharpened," Olmert was quoted as saying during a reception for his Kadima party.

Friday, March 30, 2007

RIYADH: The Arab League summit in Riyadh failed to initiate any sort of Arab initiative – Saudi or otherwise – to help Lebanon solve its four-month-old political deadlock. Most speeches from various Arab leaders during the second and final day of talks overlooked the Lebanese crisis, with only Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah urging Arab leaders to work on solving the deadlock and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh warning that Lebanese divisions "could have negative repercussions on the country."

BEIRUT (AFP) – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Beirut on Thursday and immediately called for dialogue and compromise to end Lebanon’s most serious crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990.

The UN chief, currently on his first official tour of the Middle East, will hold talks on Friday with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, officials said.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

RIYADH/BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday denied that the Arab summit would resolve Lebanon’s political crisis, but said that efforts by Saudi Arabia to push the Lebanese toward a compromise would continue. President Emile Lahoud, who is heading one Lebanese delegation to the summit while Siniora heads another, said on Wednesday that the summit should push for "unity among the Lebanese."

Lahoud was seated in the chair for the official representative of Lebanon on Wednesday, while Siniora was placed in an area allocated for senior guests.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

BEIRUT: President Emile Lahoud on Monday announced the roster of the "official" delegation he will lead to the Arab League summit in Riyadh this week, as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said there was "a chance" of breaking Lebanon’s political deadlock and urged rival groups to talk.

Lahoud will be accompanied in Riyadh by resigned Foreign Affairs Minister Fawzi Salloukh and resigned Environment Minister Yaacoub Sarraf.

المركزية – رأى النائب فريد الخازن اننا امام فرصة حقيقية للخروج من الازمة على قاعدة التسوية وعنوانها لا غالب ولا مغلوب. وطالب بقانون انتخابي لا يستهدف اي طرف سياسي او اي طائفة في لبنان مؤيدا الدوائر الوسطى او الصغرى. الاوضاع العامة في البلاد عرضها البطريرك الماروني الكاردينال مار نصر الله بطرس صفير مع زواره في الصرح […]

Friday, March 23, 2007

BKIRKI: Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea on Thursday bemoaned the fact that a nearly four-month-old political crisis was "still present, despite the efforts we are making" to resolve it. Speaking after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir at Bkirki, Geagea said that "no solutions have been reached" during numerous meetings between Speaker Nabih Berri and parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri over the past two weeks

Friday, March 23, 2007

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Thursday that his country was passing through a "dangerous time," for which he blamed the opposition. In a televised address on Thursday from the Grand Serail, Siniora spoke at length about his proposed reform plans for the public sector, but devoted only a few words to the ongoing political crisis and mounting tensions in Beirut that he has repeatedly blamed on his political rivals.