Aoun, according to Tehran political observers is a key Christian cover for Hezbollah in implementing Iranian policies in the region and for this reason he will be financially supported during the upcoming elections.

In other development

- The media in Lebanon continues to focus on the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria , the naming of the ambassadors and the location of the embassies. There is a lot of speculation in Lebanon over who will be the first Syrian ambassador to Lebanon. According to Hayat , the naming of the ambassador is linked to the status of the Lebanese Syrian higher council head Nasri Khoury

- There is grave concern within the Change and reform block about the new strength of the Lebanese Forces. Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Selhab has revealed to Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa on Thursday that party leader MP Michel Aoun’s popularity had decreased, while the popularity of the Lebanese Forces surprised not only the Free Patriotic Movement but all politicians in Lebanon, without any exceptions

Saturday

16:15 LBC TV: The vials containing liquid explosives, which were confiscated in Kfar Shouba , have not yet been sent to France for examination. They may be tested in domestic laboratories instead. Last Friday a military judge accused a police officer and two civilians of possessing these explosives with the intent to commit terrorist acts in south Lebanon

15:18 former PM Karami: Money may be a key player in the upcoming elections and the new electoral law has returned the country to sectarianism

13:53 National News Agency: Security forces found an explosive device in a garbage dump in Wadi an-Nahleh Street in Baddawi Palestinian Refugee camp

13:23 Habib Efrem : The Iraqi government is urged to declare " a state of emergency in Mousul regardless of all circumstance to protect the citizens and to end terrorism in the city

12:43 Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri said during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque on Saturday " God would punish those behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri," adding that “the Special International Tribunal will be waiting for them.”

12:38 Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Lands Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein speaks during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque.

12:29 Bishop Youhanna al-Haddad speaks on behalf of the Roman Catholic Patriarch at the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque.

12:14 Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan speaks during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque.

12:03 Bishop Elias Audi speaks on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque.

11:45 Deputy President of the Higher Islamic Shia Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan said during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque: “I did not support the exchange of embassies between Lebanon and Syria, but I do not mind it as long as it is the will of the Lebanese people.”

11:37 Bishop Roland Abu Jawdeh spoke on behalf of the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir during the opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque on Saturday. He said " Rafik Hariri realized the dream of Beirut"

10:54 Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said during the official opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque on Saturday that Muslims were convinced that Lebanon could not survive without coexistence among its people.

10:31 The opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque begins in the presence of Speaker Nabih Berri, PM Fouad Siniora, PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt, Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel, a Hezbollah delegation, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad Reda Shibani, and other political, spiritual and diplomatic figures.

10:30 MP Nabil Nicolas to al-Manar: Aoun’s visit to Iran strengthened the Christians in Lebanon and the region.

10:21 Free Patriotic Movement official Alain Aoun told LBC TV : Syria’s enemies should reconsider their position, and try to build good and responsible relations with Damascus.

10:20 Speaker Nabih Berri and MP Saad Hariri read al-Fatiha prayer at the tomb of former PM Rafik Hariri before attending the official opening of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque.

09:39 Minister of State Jean Ogasapian told the Free Lebanon radio station only the state and the army, not individuals, could protect the rights of Christians.

9:30 MP Samir Franjieh said to Voice of Lebanon that the next parliamentary elections would not produce a bloc loyal to Syria

Friday

21:38 FPM leader MP Michel Aoun returns to Beirut from Tehran.

20:42 Imam Mohammad Sayyed Tonttawi of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo arrives to Beirut to participate in the official opening of Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut on Saturday.

19:52 PM Fouad Siniora sent on Friday two letters to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to take action on Israeli Blue Line “threats and violations, cluster bombs dropped in 2006 (Israel still refused to hand over maps of the areas in which cluster bombs and landmines were located)

19:46 Lebanese army arrested Sami Hadla, who is accused of throwing a grenade at an army barricade in Chtoura on September 17. He was injured during the attempt to arrest him , because he refused to give himself up

18:55 US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Ambassador Eric S. Edelman said that Washington still supported Lebanon as a sovereign and independent state . He added Lebanese security forces should be capable of protecting Lebanon they alone should have the weapons as stipulated in UNSCR 1559

17:26 MP Saad Hariri opened the curtain of a memorial plaque commemorating his father at the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut on Friday. Hariri’s father late former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri built the mosque, which will officially open to the public on Saturday.

17:17 U.S. envoy Edelman is meeting with PM Fouad Siniora at the Grand Serail.

16:24 Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Selhab said that party leader MP Michel Aoun’s popularity had decreased, while the popularity of the Lebanese Forces surprised not only the Free Patriotic Movement but all politicians in Lebanon, without any exceptions

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