Information Minister Tareq Mitri said the ministerial committee achieved major progress towards a policy statement and would meet Monday.

The vote of confidence is expected to take place during a special parliament session next Thursday

Sunday

21:45 Tabbarah told New TV : Participation as a candidate in the 2009 elections will depend on the electoral law . There is no longer opposition and pro government forces , since this was voided by the election of new president

20:10 Fares Boueiz told LBC: Establishing diplomatic relations with Syria is very important , but this does not mean we will have the best relations with Syria

19:01 MP Walid Jumblatt: We will not shy away from fighting and we will always hold the banner of Palestine

17:45 Wiam Wahab said :"Syria for the Druze is the second Mecca and its third Koblah and I say to Walid ( Jumblatt) leave the sinking ship of Bush and this will end our dispute with you ". Wahab is a member of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah -led opposition

15:36 Sheikh Naim Qassem ( Deputy Hezbollah leader) : "We are open about discussions of the role of the resistance and the defense strategy as long as this discussion leads us to the means of defending Lebanon and not how to get rid of the resistance."
Hezbollah's role as a resistance organization was clouded by its seizure of West Beirut , its attack against the Druze of Mt Lebanon and the Sunnites in Beqaa and Tripoli region. The majority of the Lebanese consider Hezbollah as a militia organization that is serving the interest of Iran and its ally in the region ... Syria

6:02 Minister Salloukh cautioned against any speculation on the outcome of the visit of Syrian a Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem

14:02 MP Mosbah al Ahdab: I am for improving the relations with Syria , for the demarcation of the Lebanese Syrian borders in order to speed up the liberation of Shebaa farms , for establishing diplomatic relations and for closing the file on the missing Lebanese and detainees in Syrian jails

12:25 MP Akram Chehayyeb called for demarcation of borders with Syria before establishing diplomatic relations and embassies in both capitals and also called for scrapping the Lebanese Syrian Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination that was signed 1991 during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon

11:33 According to Reuters armed presence inside the Ein el Helweh Palestinian Refugee camp has increased after the death of Jawhar pointing to the possibility of renewed clashes between rival groups

11:05 Sheikh Hassan Ezz Eddine : The strength of Hezbollah is Lebanon's strength and the arms of Hezbollah belong to the nation

11:01 Syrian VP for economic affaisrs : My visit to Paris is economic in nature . I will be discussing the purchase of 50 Air Bus and the building of additional power stations in Syria

10:48 Salim Aoun : the opposition ministers will not be inventing new files for the sake of revenge . There is an agreement between the ministers to facilitate decisions. The parliament vote of confidence meeting will not take place this coming Thursday on the other hand we do not expect any obstacles in the finalization of the ministerial statement

0:24 The regional and international atmosphere are positive and this should reflect positively on the internal affairs. Mouallem's visit should pave the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria

10:06 Al Mukdah : The Lebanese authorities never informed us of the involvement of Shehada Jawhar's involvent in the murder of the 4 judges in Sidon . Jawhar is the Jund-el sham official that died of his wounds this morning . He was wounded in yesterday's clashes at the Ein el Helweh Palestinian Refugee camp

08:47 Shehadeh Jawhar, the Jund al-Sham leader that was severely wounded last night during inter Palestinian clashes in Ein el Helweh refugee camp died from his wounds

08:28 Syrian VP for economic affairs Abdallah al Dardari headed to Paris

08:25 Former President Amine Gemayel: no major obstacles in drafting the ministerial statement . Syria's expressions of good will need proper interpretation. Hezbollah arms contradict with the existence of a strong state

08:24 Saad Hariri had a walk in downtown Beirut last night and had dinner in one of its restaurants

08:19 Sfeir from Sidney: we are opposed to having a state within a state and Hezbollah arms contradict with the existence of a strong state. We are for closer relations with Syria

08:16 The ministerial committee is expected to discuss tomorrow the issues of arms and resistance and could finalize a consensus draft that could be announced in the middle of the week

08:00 Cautious calm in the Ein el Helweh camp . Many gunmen remain on the streets

07:25 Al Hayat : Debate within the ministerial committee (in charge of preparing the ministerial statement ) regarding stating in the statement that the relations between Syria and Lebanon are distinguished , but one of the majority ministers disagreed with this expression which prompted PM Siniora to adopt an expression based on the Taef accord

07:15 Hezbollah sources: The party is open to any political meeting that will enhance the unity of the country. No plans as of now for a meeting between Nasrallah and Hariri

07:00 FM Salloukh told Sada el Balad : We expect the ministerial committee will finalize the drafting of the ministerial statement by Tuesday or Wednesday latest and we expect the government to present the statement to the parliament during the next weekend

06:45 Sources from the ministerial committee : We are hoping during the weekend to finalize the statement on the issues of resistance , economy , administration reforms and energy

06:30 An Nahar : It appears that there are some who are trying to divide up the Lebanese on the issue of establishing diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria

06:00 Baabda sources: President Suleiman intends to visit Syria within 7to 10 days from the date he receives the invitation

01:29 Minister of Education Bahiya Hariri has been following closely the news of the clashes inside the Ein el Helweh camp ( which lies in her electoral district ) and made several calls to various officials (to help in ending the clashes ) including PLO representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki, Mufti of Sidon and neighboring area Sheikh Salim Soussan, Lebanese Intelligence Director for south Lebanon General Abbas Ibrahim, Palestinian armed resistance leader general Munir el Mukdah and other key officials .

01:25 According to security sources the situation inside the Ein el Helweh camp remains very tense amidst concern of renewed fighting because many armed gunmen are still on the streets

Saturday

21:35 Syrian sources confirmed that FM Walid al Mouallem planning to be in Lebanon on Monday , but is awaiting final confirmation from the lebanese authorities on his visit

20:18 Gemayel told Al Mustaqbal TV: The elections should be transparent and democratic . I am very concerned about this democratic process in areas that are beyond the control of the Lebanese state . Gemayel was alluding to the areas under the control of Hezbollah . During the 2005 elections areas under the control of Hezbollah did not allow observers from other parties at the polling stations

20:15 Gemayel told Al Mustaqbal TV: We insist that the Lebanese state should spread its authority throughout the country to erase any traces of the last war

20:11 The number of casualties in Ein El Helweh Palestinian Refugee camp has risen to 2 killed and 4 wounded . The names of the 2 killed are : Abdul Nasser el Dawali and Walid Salloum. The names of the wounded are : Shehadeh Jawhar and official of Jund al-Sham, Hassan Bou Dabbous , Yehya el Said and Abdou el Said

19:00 Violent Clashes broke out between Fatah and Jund al-Sham factions at Ein El-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp killing at least one person

14:45 Information Minister Tareq Mitri said the ministerial committee achieved major progress towards a policy statement and would meet Monday

Tags: Government, Hezbollah, March 14 Alliance, Prisoners, source: Now Lebanon, source: Ya Libnan