according to local reports.

Youth and Sports Minister Talal Arslan, who returned from a trip to Indonesia is reportedly trying to arrange the meeting . Arslan is also working on hosting at his palace in Khaldeh a meeting within the next couple of days between Jumblatt and a Hezbollah delegation that will be headed by MP Mohammad Raad to prepare for the Jumblatt- Nasrallah meeting ... similar to the preparations that took place before the Nasrallah - Hariri meeting of last Sunday . According to local reports the Jumblatt - Nasrallah meeting should take place before November 5th

The Jumblatt - Nasrallah meeting according to political observers is extremely important specially after what happened last May when Hezbollah failed in its attacks against the Druze of Mount Lebanon and suffered many casualties.

In other developments:

- President Suleiman is still in to Rome on an official visit . Yesterday, after talks with his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitan, he called for just settlements to all aspects of the Middle East crisis. He also expressed gratitude to Italy for its support of Lebanon's stability.

- The reconciliation between Geagea and Franjiyeh continues to face obstacles. The Maronite League has not given up , but Syria has been accused of blocking the reconciliation effort .

- The US raid against Syria continues to be the focus of the media in Syria. Yesterday the Syrian government arranged a demonstration in Damascus against the raid and the US decided to close its Damascus embassy for security reasons.

Friday

22:06 Now Lebanon: Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Abdulkarim Khalaf said that before the strike by American forces into Syria last Sunday, his government had informed Syrian officials that a “terrorist cell” was operating in their territory. He added “Syria didn’t take any measures to uproot the terrorists in the Bou Kamal border region with Iraq.” Khalaf said “Iraq is surrounded by Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia , but we face the most serious problems along the Iranian and Syrian borders.” He concluded : “We are not satisfied with what happened but we would have been much happier if the Syrian brothers had taken the initiative” to combat the terrorists"

21:24 At least nine Kurdish and Syrian opposition parties plan to stage a demonstration in front of the Syrian Parliament protesting Decree 49, which, according to the organizers, will drive Kurds from their homes and prevent them from returning. The organizers said they feared that the Syrian security forces will violently suppress the demonstration.

17:35 Gen. Jean Kahwaji said the army is beefing up its troops deployed along the borders to combat smuggling and illegal infiltration of individuals.

17:20 President Suleiman discussed with the Pope bilateral relations between Lebanon and the Vatican.

17:15 PM Fouad Siniora concludes a visit to Egypt by meeting chief of intelligence Gen. Omar Suleiman.

14:00 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea met Future Movement leader Saad Hariri in Qureitem Thursday night.
13:50 NOW Lebanon: Jumblatt-Nasrallah meeting will occur before November 5, the second session of the dialogue talks

13:30 Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi reduced the taxi tarif from LL 2,000 to LL 1,750 due to the lower cost of fuel

13:30 Unknown assailants beat up Andrew George , a resident from Byblos after forcing him to set his own car on fire.

12:37 Al-Arabiya : Former US ambassador to the UN( Bolton) expressed fears for “stability and democracy in Lebanon” and “the government of Prime Minister [Fouad] Siniora ” during the US presidential transition phase

12:00 NNA: An 11-member Israeli force briefly crossed the barbed wire fence east of Mais el-Jabal .

11:52 Aoun says nothing but “nuclear bomb” can separate FPM from Hezbollah. Aoun also said he would visit Damascus before the end of 2008, especially after the exchange of ambassadors between the two countries,

11:15 Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told Future TV: No one knows the identity of the judges who will take part in the international tribunal.

11:00 Hezbollah adviser ( Ezzedin) in charge of Arab relations told New TV: We support inter-Christian reconciliation and we stress the significance of the Nasrallah-Hariri meeting.

10:20 Cabinet Minister Talal Arslan returned to Beirut after signing a Sports deal with his Indonesian counterpart.

10:10 Israeli jets staged mock raids at medium altitude over Nabatiyeh, Iqlim Tuffah, Marjayoun, Khiam and Jezzine.

10:00 PM Fouad Siniora is expected to travel to Turkey on Monday for meetings with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials in Ankara and Istanbul.

9:00 Al-Liwaa: Several meetings were held Thursday night between majority forces to come up with a common stance on the issue of broadening participation in the national dialogue. An announcement is expected soon.

8:15 MP Fouad al-Saad told VOL: There is no need for the dialogue table. Today, there is a national unity cabinet. Let’s hold talks within institutions.

Thursday:

18:50 Judge Antoine Kheir convened a meeting to discuss judicial reorganization on Thursday following the resignation of Judge Riyashi who resigned to protest against the delay in judicial formations while 100 graduated judges remain idle, but only Judges Riyashi and Kheir were present

18:38 Army chief General Jean Qahwaji received a call from his Syrian counterpart General Ali Habib about Syrian intentions to deploy its army along the eastern borders as it did on the northern borders to prevent smuggling and illegal crossings

17:00 Rifi met Fouad Abu Nather and a French delegation

16:30 Ahmad Nazif: Egypt will forever remain the supporter of Lebanon's independence , its unity and its Arab identity and we will respond positively to the Lebanese government's effort in rebuilding the country and maintaining security

16:18 Future TV : The riots at the Roumiyeh prison ended after the security guards stepped in to control the situation

16:10 Salam after returning from Cairo: our expectations are high from the dialogue talks and the future elections will be a turning point for strengthening democracy in Lebanon

16:05 LBC : The Islamist prisoners are launching a riot at the Roumiyeh prison and security guards are trying to control the situation

Share this Article:           
Feedback? We want to hear your thoughts!