over the paragraph dealing with the resistance .
The cabinet is expected to present the statement to the parliament for the vote of confidence
According to speaker Berri's sources , he plans to hold an open session starting Friday and may continue till Monday to debate the Ministerial Policy Statement before the vote of confidence. The sessions will be broadcast live on national TV
The other focus today will be the summit in Damascus between President Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart. The summit according to Baabda palace sources was to take place either today (Tuesday) or Wednesday , but Future TV reported late last night that president Suleiman will be heading to Damascus next Wednesday August 13. Obviously the president wants to make sure the cabinet gets the vote of confidence before he talks with his Syrian counterpart
The other focus will be the 2009 election alliances as new alliances are being formed
Tuesday
19:15pm Fires were extinguished in Alay and Qabr Shmoun region
16:01 two witnesses were questioned in the case of the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri
15:57 PM Siniora and Minister Taborian discussed the Ministry of Energy situation
15:36 Media syndicate leader Karam condemned the attack on Nichan and requested the attorney of the syndicate to follow up the case
15:23 Speaker Berri called for a pariliament session Friday at 6:00 PM to debate the Ministerial Policy Statement for the purpose of granting the government the vote of confidence
15:01 Fires rage in Qurtoba and the army helicopters supported by the Cypriot Helicopters are trying to extinguish the fires and to prevet it from spreading to neighboring areas . The burnt area is over 2 million square meters
12:30 Geagea: Paragraph 24 of the ministerial policy statement does not authorize the resistance with the right to defend Lebanon but authorizes the state, its people , its army and its various political forces to defend the country
11:58 A Cypriot helicopter jointed the Lebanese helicopters in their effort to extinguish fires in Mount Namroud in Jubail
12:22 The hearing of the case against New TV has been postponed until August 12
12:10 Boutros Harb from Baabda : We hope the visit of the president to Damascus will clarify the discrepancies in the Lebanese Syrian relations
13:45 Baabda sources: The summit meeting in Damascus between the presidents of Lebanon and Syria is confirmed for August 13, 2008
11:48 Mayor of Ainab : Until this moment we cannot declare for sure whether the fire was arsenal despite the claims that point in this direction, but we can say for sure that there was delay in the extinguishing of the fire
11:35 Michel Mouawad told LBC : The ministerial policy statement establishes a minimum level of understanding between the March 14 and March 8 alliances . The arms outside the state represents a danger to democracy
11:22 Huge fire in Aramoun - Al Mouanesset areas
11:19 Residents of Qurtuba urge the concerned authorities to find a solution to the fires and asked : How come no one was arrested over the fires yet ?
11:17 Minister Bassil met Iranian ambassador Shibani to discuss cooperation with Iran in the field of communications
11:16 Baabda sources told AFP : president Suleiman will visit Damascus on Aug 13
10:35 Majdalani told Future TV: March 8 alliance is trying to weaken March 14 allinace. There are no disagreements within march 14 alliance
09:15 Alrai ( opinion) : President Suleiman may visit Damascus tomorrow for 1 day only. Yesterday Future TV reported he will visit Damascus next Wednesday Aug 13. Reports on his visit have been contradictory ever since he was invited to go there for a summit
9:10 Civil Defense Director Brig. Gen. Darwish Hobeika said he believes that the forest fires are premeditated.
09:00 Al Jareedah : Some Majority MPs may not vote for the cabinet in the vote of confidence session
8:15 Fire erupts in the woods of Qabr Shmoun village southeast of Beirut.
07:07 "the Sada el Balad": An opposition Minister visited Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and told him that he intends to retire from politics after the resignation of his government( automatically) following the parliamentary elections in 2009 because he needs to rest and to have more time for family and and make time for fine arts such as reading poetry and writing
07:01 Conflicting information about the date of the visit of President Suleiman to Syria some sources have reported the visit will be on August 11 while Future TV reported it will take place on August 13
06:57 "As Safir": Minister Basil called for amending the paragraph on the Lebanese that fled to Israel, he requested that the text should read "the Government in line with the presidential speech will provide all the necessary means to secure their return in a manner consistent with the applicable laws"
06:44 "As Safar": yesterday's cabinet meeting was more like a formality , went smoothly and positively
06:23 Extensive discussions took place at the cabinet meeting and focused on the Palestinian issue and their resettlement
06:12 The issue of the disappearance of Imam Moussa el Sadr was discussed after minister Shamseddine said that what was said about him in the statement is not enough.
05:48 Minister Mitri quoted President Suleiman as saying that "the ministerial statement confirms the state as the reference and that the a responsible resistance can contribute to the strengthening the authority of the State "
05:08 PM Siniora told An Nahar : The debate in yesterday's meeting was civilized and I felt comfortable about the ambiance of the meeting
Monday
23:17 Al-Sayegh told Future TV: Our reservation on a paragraph in the ministerial statement will allow us to legally use it is a solution if they tried to apply the paragraph
22:56 " Future TV": President Suleiman will visit Syria Wednesday August 13. Originally it was speculated that he was leaving tomorrow .
22:45 Minister Khalifa told the " Future TV " The resistance project does not differ from the state project
22:26 Minister Mitri from Baabda: The Government approved unanimously the ministerial policy statement and a number of ministers recorded their reservations in the records of the meeting.
22:23 Lebanese Council of Ministers unanimously approved the Ministerial Statement
21:27 Zahra told " Future TV": the ministerial policy statement link the rights of the resistance to resolution 1701 and the Constitution of Lebanon
20:33 Ministerial sources told al Markaziyeh: The debate of the cabinet over the ministerial policy statement will be done with in one session only and the statement will not be modified and will be adopted as is
19:15 Cabinet Minister Elie Marouni presented a written reservation on the resistance clause of the policy statement.
18:00 Government session underway at Baabda Palace.
17:55 President Michel Suleiman and Premier Siniora hold a meeting at Baabda Palace prior to the cabinet session.
14:50 FPM leader Gen Michel Aoun said during a press conference at Rabiyeh : I wonder who would defend the nation if they placed reservations on the resistance clause. Aoun , who is allied with Hezbollah said the nation's sovereignty cannot be violated by its resistance, but by a foreign army.
