it reflects the "strong" support by the international community to the state of Lebanon.

"Support for the Lebanese Armed Forces remains a pillar of our Lebanon policy, " Hale told reporters

“I hope the arms granted to the Lebanese army are effective. As for the MIG-29 fighter jets, if they are not equipped with radars and rockets, then they are useless,” Free patriotic Movement MP Nabil Nicola said, in reference the Russian offer. He added that his bloc would wait and see the planes and how they are equipped before judging the generosity of the donation.

In general all Lebanese politicians praised the Russian generosity ...Only Israel was very critical of the Russians and for obvious reasons... Israel has been having a free hand in violating Lebanon's airspace until now ...

Sunday

22:40 Baroud : My decision in naming the members of the election committee that will supervise the elections was based on merit and qualifications and not on sectarian allocations. He said the ministry will provide the committee with all the logistical and technical help needed to ensure its success. He added " the committee wants to succeed in its mission and the ministry will stand at equal distance from all parties "

22:30 Pakradoni, an opposition supporter predicts that the opposition will win the upcoming elections with a very small margin. He also predicts that the true battle will be in Christian strongholds. He told an Nahar that the upcoming elections will be considered a petro-dollar battle ( in reference reported Iranian financial support for Hezbollah-led opposition and Saudi Arabian support for March 14 alliance ) ...he said if money will be used in the elections then the elections will turn into a problem instead of a solution

21:55 Minister Lahoud : US commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty , independence and Freedom is firm regardless whether it is a Republican or Democratic administration. The commitment is deeply rooted and the US will be sending more and more supplies soon to help the Lebanese army

21:45 Minister Baroud: The government will continue to do its duties and the issue of the constitutional council is not over yet . We are depending on the wisdom of the president to find a solution

20:09 Kanaan : Our problem is now relates to the substance of the constitutional council and not the individual members

20:03 Minister Bassil told New TV: We will be removing the political color that they tried to add to the constitutional council. We are in agreement with the president that the appointments should be based on merit and qualifications

20:01 salloukh : I am in complete agreement with the president and the cabinet over the name of the Lebanese ambassador to Syria . We will be informing the Syrians within the next couple of days and we should expect their response within 40 days

19:33 Hashem Safi Eddine: What happened in Blida is a dangerous development . It is an attack against Lebanon and Lebanese sovereignty. Electoral fraud has begun with the new election law

19:00 Finance Minister Mohammad Shatah will sign 2 agreements tomorrow for $130 million with the Arab Monetary Fund , which will be represented by Dr Jassim al Mannai

17:50 : VOL : Inter-Christian reconciliation during Christmas as MP Michel Aoun and Suleiman Franjieh are to visit Bkirki with President Michel Suleiman.

17:40 : Reconciliation meeting held between Progressive Socialist Party( which is led by MP Walid Jumblatt) and Unification Movement ( which is led by former minister Wiam Wahhab ) in the village of Kfarheem with Druze clergy attending. PSP was represented by Dr. Nasser Zaidan and Unification by Suleiman el Sayegh

17:35 The Syrian cabinet approved agreement reached between the Lebanese Interior minister and his Syrian counterpart

17:15 : Defense Minister Elias el-Murr returned to Beirut via Geneve from Moscow where was on an official visit to discuss arms for the Lebanese army

14:50 March 14 alliance withdraws from the elections of the committee of secondary education teachers

14:35 French president sarkozy expected to visit Lebanon within the next few days to congratulate the president on the establishment of diplomatic relations with Syria and will be calling on Syria to start direct negotiations with Israel

14:10 Demonstration at the Nakkar gate near Shebaa farms in solidarity with Gazans against the blockade by Israel

12:20 Minister of tourism Elie Marouni left for Cairo to participate in a a conference of Arab Tourism ministers

11:50 March 14 Forces won the student elections at Notre Dame University in the Shouf Campus.

11:33 FPM MP Nabil Nicola told NBN TV: “How can these three judges (of the constitutional council that were elected by the majority ) be neutral?” he asked . He confirmed that there would be a meeting between Free Patriotic Movement leader MP General Michel Aoun and Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir.

11:10 Security forces found Syrian worker Ahmad Chitan shot dead in the southern high barren mountains of Jbeil. Investigation revealed that Chitan and two of his friends were kidnapped and robbed on Saturday at gun point.

11:00 Minister Jean Oghassapian told Future TV: We had reservations yesterday concerning the principle of electing the five remaining Constitutional Council members and not on the candidates themselves.

10:36 MP Nabil de Freij to Future TV: We fear that a dispute could be provoked to hamper upcoming elections, particularly since Gen. Aoun and his allies cannot tolerate defeat. He said that Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun “speaks as if he believes in democracy but has the behavior of a dictator.” He added " Geagea had proposed that the Resistance be transformed into an independent brigade within the Lebanese army, so that the military could benefit from its expertise and arms"

10:21 Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told VOL: Delaying elections of the other half of Constitutional Council members is just giving a chance for a solution and not postponement of problems.

10:15 Democratic Gathering bloc MP Fouad Saad told Radio Free Lebanon: Forming election lists of March 8 candidates are much easier than that of March 14 due to the abundance of names in the majority team.... We refuse to demand veto power if we became a minority in the new parliament.

9:55 Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan told VOL : We had been notified beforehand at the dialogue table that Hezbollah will continue to hold onto its arms. He added : “ Bellemare's report indicates that the investigation has reached a very advanced stage and it can be referred to the tribunal,”

Saturday

16:05 Information Minister Tareq Mitri said at the end of the Cabinet meeting: Cabinet will hold another meeting to elect the other half of the Constitutional Council members. Cabinet appoints Judge Ghaleb Ghanem as the Head of the Supreme Judiciary Council and Judge Shukri Sader as the Head of the Shura Council. "Cabinet appointed Lebanon's ambassador to Syria but will not announce the name until it is approved by Syrian authorities." Mitri said , but the name is Michel Khoury.... President Suleiman stressed the need to speed up approval of 2009 state budget. The Cabinet unanimously condemned the Gaza siege.

18:25 US embassy official says military assistance is not a reaction to Russian donation of 10 Mig 29 jet fighters to Lebanon


18:23 PM Siniora contacts UNIFIL chief General Claudio Graziano to thank him for his efforts in freeing the 2 Lebanese citizens that were kidnapped by Israel on Friday

17:43 The Lebanese army rescued the crew of a Syrian fishing boat outside the territorial waters

17:34 Kuwaiti KUNA says Syria approves of Michel Khoury as Lebanon’s first ambassador.

17:20 Geagea told "Free Lebanon" radio : The talk about an agreement between the leadership of the March 8 and March 14 and others on the names of members of the Constitutional Council is not true, their criticism is unacceptable

16:28 State of Qatar's new ambassador arrived in Lebanon

15:53 Cabinet meeting over.

15:05 Lebanese citizen Hussein Atef Zeineddine, 22, was seriously wounded when a cluster bomb went off on the Safad-Tibnin road in southern Lebanon.

14:15 Nabti told investigators that he had installed the camera and attached it his cell phone to shoot pictures of tourist sites and that he had no political motivation.

14:12 Investigators found out that the owner of the suspicious bike is a Lebanese-American identified as David Nabti, who is an AUB student majoring in Business Administration. The PSP issued a statement in which it expressed its full confidence in the security services’ investigation into the situation and expressed its hope that the matter would not become hot topic for the media or politicians.

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