that will deal with anti-terrorism and and border control. The alliance sees it as another attempt by Syria through the back door to interfere in Lebanon's internal affairs. On the other hand Syria's allies have praise the move as cooperation between two sisterly states

Minister Baroud told Voice of Lebanon : "We should make clear that the committee which was agreed upon with the Syrians will be a coordinating committee not a joint committee or a security committee. This committee cannot start its work until after the cabinet’s approval. The file of the missing Lebanese in the Syrian prisons would be put in the hands of the new Syrian-Lebanese committee."

In other developments:

- President Suleiman departed to New where he will participate in the conference on religious dialogue in New York. He was accompanied by FM Minister Salloukh, Information minister Mitri, development minister Shamsuddine , and state minister Abou Faour and manager or of the presidential affairs Abu Assi and a media delegation. Prior to leaving Lebanon he received a call from his Syrian counterpart expressing satisfaction with the visit of Baroud to Damascus

- Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh met with FPM leader Gen. Michel Aoun in Rabiyeh. Franjieh before his scheduled meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butrous Sfeir later today

Tuesday

21:55 MP Majdalani told LBC: If it wasn’t for the support of Future Movement the army would not have been able to succeed in its battle against Fatah al Islam in Nahr el Bared . It is important to also point out that Fatah al Islam leader Shaker al Absi was imprisoned by the Syrians but was released to go to Lebanon based on a presidential order , which proves Syrian involvement.

21:24 MP Saad Hariri requested Arab League chief Amr Moussa during a phone call to obtain a copy of the file on the alleged Fatah al Islam confessions as broadcast on Syrian TV . Earlier Hariri called these allegations "fabrications and lies"

21:05 MP Adwan told Future TV: The Lebanese Forces is the most popular in the Shouf area amongst the Christian community and will launch its election campaign with candidates that will most likely succeed. I apologize on behalf of the Lebanese Forces about any remarks or accusations made including the remark made by MP Zahra about the Wilayat al Faqih

20:49 Lebanon Files: The car of a Lebanese army intelligence official was set on fire by Salafists in Majdel Anjar area after a verbal dispute and they also fired at one of the civilian cars and wounded one person. The army and local residents intervened to end the dispute . cautious calm is prevailing in the area.

20:38 Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on the anniversary of Martyr's day : "The resistance is stronger than ever and Israel's hand will be cut off if attempts to attack Lebanon". He urged Arab and Islamic countries that will be participating in the inter-faith dialogue conference in New York to kick out Israel because " Livni, Olmert and Perez are war criminals" he said. Nasrallah also called for expanding the dialogue talks in Lebanon and for lowering the voting age to 18. He said Hezbollah will insist on holding the elections on time regardless of the circumstances.

17:00 Crude oil price dropped below $59 /barrel today

16:30 Army Commander Jean Kahwaji toured the army bases in Beirut and said after completing the tour: The army’s efforts, along with corporation from Lebanon’s security forces, were bringing relief security and stability to Lebanon. He also said that the arrests of an alleged terrorist cell in Tripoli and a Israeli spy network in Bekaa were accomplished through cooperation between the army and the security forces, along with assistance from the Palestinian leadership in the refugee camps.

16:20 Telecommunication Minister Bassil reduced some of the charges for fixed lines

16:16 Judge Rashid Mezher questioned seven people arrested in connection with the September bombing in Tripoli.

15:01 MP Hussein Hajj Hassan tells reporters at Grand Serail he supports Syrian-Lebanese cooperation, because the security of Lebanon and Syria are linked in one way or another.

13.10 President Suleiman departed to New whewre he will participate in the conference on religious dialogue in New York. He was accompanied by FM Minister Salloukh, Information minister Mitri, development minister Shamsuddine , and state minister Abou Faour and manager or of the presidential affairs Abu Assi and a media delegation

12:59 Syrian President Bashar Assad telephoned President Michel Suleiman to express his satisfaction with the visit of Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to Damascus.

12:55 Parliamentary Defense Committee, along with Ziad Baroud, meets to discuss security services promotions.

12:26 Sheikh Ammar , head of Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya’s political bureau in Lebanon confirms alliance with Future Movement . The Group will soon announce its candidates for the parliament. He expressed his surprise over Aoun’s demands for increased privileges and powers for the deputy PM without mentioning the role of the deputy speaker and said Aoun's popularity had significantly dropped.

11:43 Suleiman Franjieh told reporters in Rabiyeh after meeting with FPM leader Gen. Michel Aoun: "If Gen Aoun visited Syria the Lebanese in general and the Christians in particular would be relieved. As Maronites, we are fully represented by General Michel Aoun."

11:16 MP Hagob Pakradonian told NBN: "Fears about the Syrian-Lebanese committee are not justified as long as the Syrian and Lebanese security officials behave responsibly...I don’t think Syria will interfere in the domestic Lebanese issues"

11:02 Minister Khaled Qabbani told Future TV: "Baroud’s visit to Syria to result in coordinating the issues between the two countries officially rather than through the media. We must not fear the past as long as we trust the parliament, the government and the president"

10:49 Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh meets with FPM leader Gen. Michel Aoun in Rabiyeh. Franjieh is also scheduled to meet with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butrous Sfeir later today, Al-Hayat reported.

10:34 Future Movement MP Hadi Hbeish told Future TV: March 14 will wait to see what powers the new ( Lebanese Syrian )committee will have before taking a unified stance. .. Aoun should be the first to realize that the televised ( Fatah al Islam) confessions are fabricated by the Syrian intelligence, since he was the first leader to be targeted in this way

10:23 The government ordered the closure of all general and municipal institutions on Saturday, November 22 to mark Independence Day

10:17 Prime Minister Fouad Siniora meets with the head of the Independent International Investigation Committee, Daniel Bellemare, at the Grand Serail.

09:21 MP Ahmad Fatfat told VOL: The Syrian television confessions should be referred to the Arab League. There is a possibility of cooperation with the Arab League to launch a fact-finding mission to put an end to the exploitation of the Fatah al-Islam issue.

08:43 Ziad Baroud speaks told Voice of Lebanon : We should make clear that the committee which was agreed upon with the Syrians will be a coordinating committee not a joint committee or a security committee. This committee cannot start its work until after the cabinet’s approval. The file of the missing Lebanese in the Syrian prisons would be put in the hands of the new Syrian-Lebanese committee.

Monday

20:30 Mayor of Jdeideh -Boushriyeh told LBC: Any owner of private power generation equipment that raises the electricity charges will be legally pursued and will be badly mistreated

20:23 Minister Baroud briefed PM Siniora on his trip to Syria

20:20 The residents of Jouniyeh were scared when they heard a very loud sound and thought it was a bomb explosion. It turned out to be the noise caused by the bursting of a truck

19:09 Marada Movement leader and Former minister Suleiman Franjieh to visit Bkirki this week

18:40 Interior Minister Ziad Baroud visits President Michel Sleiman at Baabda Palace, and then briefs Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in the Grand Serail on today’s meetings with Syrian officials.

18:35 David Eassa met with Geagea in Maarab to discuss the general situation and the upcoming elections

17:15 Norway's deputy Foreign Minister arrived in Beirut to participate in the conference on landmines and cluster bombs

17:11 PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt denounced in his weekly column the Syrian television broadcast last Thursday, in which alleged Fatah al-Islam members confessed they received funding from the Future Movement, as “stories and lies.” He added : “Lebanon has played the role of Hanoi for a long time, and it is time to see stability and calm and enjoy economic and social growth, ” in reference to the defense strategy issue

16:40 Change and Reform bloc leader General Michel Aoun said during a press conference: We request the security forces leader in Mount Lebanon be replaced. Perhaps he is like his commanders, for that is how they behaved in the Grand Serail - and I mean the prime minister specifically. The FPM Ministers will not resign from the government because we have agreed to stay in the government until after the elections. In defense of Syria's broadcast he said : We knew about the confessions broadcast by Syria a long time ago and the prominent journalist Seymour Hersh wrote about this.

16:30 Hariri met the Iraqi parliament speaker to discuss bilateral relations and the situation in Lebanon and Iraq

16:10 Harb responded to Aoun by saying : The dialogue is not a restricted private club but a meeting of responsible people who care about the destiny of their country and we should be keeping the public informed about what we are doing

16:10 British daily The Evening Standard reports that Abu Qatada, a radical preacher once described as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe planned to escape to Lebanon, but he is back in custody in Britain

15:46 Lebanese, Syrian interior ministers agree to joint committee “whose task is coordination in the fight against terrorism and crimes of all types, and the development of a joint mechanism to control the border.”

15:45 US ambassador Sisson: The US policy towards Lebanon is unchanged and will continue to support stability and prosperity in the country

15:17 MP Walid Jumblatt warns Lebanese ministers visiting Damascus against forming joint security committees to avoid “granting Syria the chance to interfere in Lebanese affairs again.”

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