there is a lot of concernon the part of the majority that the new government may not be able to accomplish anything , because the opposition may continue to oppose and block the government decisions that may not suit Syria or Iran

General Aoun continues to be the obstacle according to government sources. Many people expected to see white smoke after Aoun's son-in-law Gibran Bassil met with PM designate Fouad Siniora , but Aoun rejected the offers presented to him

According to speaker Berri 's sources it seems General Aoun has accepted the very last offer given to him which includes the communications, energy, economy, agriculture and the deputy PM portfolios in the new government. He was also offered as an option the social affairs instead of the energy portfolio . The only problem here it the optimism was relayed by a third party ..we really do not know what is on Aoun's mind.

Friday

21:18 MP Antoine Zahratold al Arabiyeh TV : The participants at the National Christian Gathering, are addressing the wrong concerns of the Christians .

21:03 Syrian FM Mouallem. Syria decided not to interfere in the formation of the Lebanese government . It is time for the Lebanese to decide on their own on this issue

20:34 European Union ambassador in Lebanon. One of the basic roles of the president is lead the national dialogue

20:01 the president congratulated the Poet and philosopher Said Akl on his 96th birthday

19:34 Speaker Berri cut short his private trip to Canada and returned to Lebanon . He contacted president Suleiman and PM Siniora and received a call from Qatar PM

19:24 PM Siniora received a call from his Qatar counterpart and formal chief Amr Moussa and chaired a meeting to discuss the recent fires in Lebanon

18:09 Some guests started showing up at the Royal Hotel in Dbaye to participate in the "National Christian Gathering," which is being held by the opposition. Key representatives of the Christian community such as the Phalange Party , the Lebanese Forces and many other pro-government factions have not been invited . The organizers are hoping to bring together about 150 Lebanese Christian political, economic and social figures and hope to come out with a unified position regarding the role of the Christians in Lebanon. Few expect any positive results since this gathering is dividing the Christians right in the middle and therefore its resolutions could not be enforced within the Christian community

17:23 Al Markaziyeh : The meeting between PM Siniora and Gibran Bassil was very positive . progress at a steady pace continues

16:20 Siniora - All looks positive with regards to the formation of the government . Dialogue and progress continues

15:06 The residents of Strifa in south Lebanon slept outside their homes last night for fear of aftershocks. Over 1000 homes were damaged by earthquakes. An earthquake of 3.5 degrees on the Richter scale hit the town this morning

15:01 Supreme Judicial Council approved the appointment of Judge George Karam as judicial investigator in the assassination of MP Gibran Tueni

14:39 Minister Qabbani named Bukai'ah secondary in Akkar after the MP Walid Eido because the people of the town are considered very loyal to the martyr

13:56 An opposition source told Now Lebanon: An agreement has been reached on the formation of the government, and current discussions are focusing on formalities.

12:41 Sources close to PM Fouad Siniora report that he said after his meeting with FPM official Gibran Bassil, "The climate is very positive. Dialogue and contacts are ongoing."

12:00 US Charge D'affaires Michele Sison who was nominated by president Bush as the ambassador to Lebanon headed to Washington to testify in the confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Foreign relations committee

11:56 LBC Television: Opposition and majority sources say that during their meeting, PM Siniora and Gibran Bassil are discussing Siniora's latest suggestion to Aoun over the government.

11:54 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said after meeting with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda presidential palace that the problem over the establishment of the government is the representation of the Change and Reform bloc. He noted the possibility of a meeting joining him and MP Michel Aoun in the near future under the auspices of the president.

11:31 Secretary General of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council Nasri Khoury told ANB: A Syrian tax has been imposed on all people crossing the Syrian border, including Syrian nationals. We have sent a letter to the Syrian authorities calling for exempting Lebanese citizens crossing the border from this tax, as Syrian nationals do not pay any tax at the Lebanese customs checkpoint.

11:27 Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is meeting with FPM Political Relations Officer Gibran Bassil at the Grand Serail.

10:56 MP Ammar Houri told ANB Television: The president is making efforts to join MP Saad Hariri with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. We all agreed in Doha to a certain platform, and we must not go beyond it. Disagreements must not go beyond constitutional rules.

10:55 MP Nawwar Al-Sahili to NTV: In the previous phase, Minister Elias Murr was not neutral; he was close to the other party. PM Siniora tried to portray the problem as being between the opposition and the president, but he failed in doing so.

09:37 An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale shook the village of Srifa in South Lebanon this morning, causing panic among residents. No deaths, injuries or material damages have yet been reported.

07:45 As Safir based on French sources: President Sarkozy will be welcoming president Suleiman to the Elyse palace the afternoon of July 12 th to continue the dialogue they started at Baabda palace. Afterwards Sarkozy will have bilateral meeting with president Assad and then president Mubarak

7:36 Geagea told Future TV: Two parties are blocking the formation of the cabinet : Syria and Hezbollah and they are not concerned about the delay as long as they are not held responsible . Aoun is being used as a front while they are benefiting from the delay

07:30 As Safir based on French sources: President sarkozy's aides Jean-David Levitte, Claude Gueant, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem will all have lunch together to discuss the visit of the Syrian president to Paris , the formation of the Lebanese cabinet and the implementation of the Doha accord

07:06 Gen Aoun sources told Al Akhbar : The offers given to us are just tests . Siniora is not showing enthusiasm and interest in forming the cabinet quickly . He is still giving us offers that he knows we will reject

007:04 Jumblatt told Future TV : the Change and Reform bloc leader General Michel Aoun is still looking for electoral gains through the unjustly demands in the new government

06:24 Gen. Aoun told "Al Akhbar ": I feel that the other team has set artificial limits. We heard in one of the statements that there must be a balance between the three Christians pillars , but they are essentially unbalanced and talk like this means to breaking the balance

06:12 Political sources told "As-Safir:" If the government is announced within the next 48 hours, the ministerial statement will be completed in less than 24 hours.

05:58 Shatah told "Al-Nahar:" remarkable optimism will translates today into action. High expectations of something positive today

05:54 European diplomatic sources: the greatest danger which threatens Lebanon is the fact that the Syrians and Iranians were able to transform this country into a huge time bomb by providing "Hezbollah" with large quantities of heavy weapons , rockets, missiles and various military equipment

05:30 Speaker Nabih Berri sources told "Al-Nahar" that the speaker will soon be in Lebanon and is optimistic about the formation of the government.
It seems General Aoun has accepted the communication, energy, economy, agriculture and the deputy PM portfolios in the government. He was also offered social affairs instead of the energy portfolio

Thursday

22:15 US Ambassador Sison - We look forward to working hand in hand with the president and the new government and we are optimistic after the Doha accord of national political reconciliation that will benefit all the Lebanese people

21:45 Minister Haddad told LBC : Competition is the best means to reduce the prices in the market. The government is following up closely the price of bread and took decisions that are costing the state lot of money ( subsidy of the flour) . At Paris 3 we made moves to protect people with limited income

21: 10 Jumblatt emphasized during a speech at a Socialist International meeting in Greece the impossibility of normalizing Lebanese-Syrian relations before the Syrian regime's "categorical acknowledgment of Lebanese independence."

20:07 PM Siniotra received from chief editor of Lebanon Opportunities magazine 2 illustrations one briefly explains how Lebanon infrastructure was rebuilt after the destruction by Israeli war in 2006 and the other on the achievements at Paris 3 donor conference

19:10 French FM spokesman : We hope the implementation of the prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel will be executed asap to pave the way for complete implementation of UN SC Resolution 1701
1701

18:23 President Suleiman called Carindal Sfeir to congratulate him on the honoring of Patriarch Doueihi

Tags: Breaking News, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Lebanon Files, Qatar, Siniora, source: Now Lebanon, Suleiman, Ya Libnan