It appears that the launching pad of the 2 rockets was too primitive and this ruled out Hezbollah's involvement . The focus is now on the smaller Palestinian militant groups that are loyal to Syria . In an interview with Future TV Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra said :"I think Israel is convinced that Hezbollah didn’t fire the rockets, and we know that most of the Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon are loyal to Syria. Does Syria want to involve Hezbollah in a war?"

Speaker nabih Berri escalated his verbal attacks yesterday against PM Siniora and Finanace Minister Shatah over the 60 billion LL demanded for the Council of the South. Berri went as far as threatening Siniora : "No 60 billion LL no elections in 2009"

Siniora , who has been subjected to numerous attacks by members of the March 8 alliance was not amused by Berri's threats : We have never succumbed to intimidation , extortion , threats and blackmail and we will not succumb now. We will not back down from our goals." He said today

Yesterday a March 14th delegation visited PM Siniora at his headquarters in the Grand Serail to him their support. Following the meeting , the head of the delegation Fares Soaid denounced the attack against the Prime Minister on behalf of a delegation of 14 March: "Behind Siniora are political , public and parliamentary forces" he said

Monday

7:00 Minister Baroud told al Hayat : preparations are ongoing and the elections will be on schedule. No one is able to assume responsibility for violating the Doha accord
06:22 An Nahar : Hezbollah elements behind the attack against the officer Tarek al-Zein in Bourj al-Barajneh in al Dahiya south of Beirut

05: 44 VOL: VP of the phalange party Salim el Sayegh said the Christians have exposed Aoun's deception

5:35 Former Finance Minsiter Azour said : the fact the budget has not been approved yet proves that this is a disruptive government

5:29 MP Adwan : the prestige of the state is at stake, and institutions should assume responsibility

02:43 El Seyassah: One thousand security elements of the "March 8" will be watching "14 March" the election centers

02:32 El Seyassah: A new phase of destabilization of the situation in Lebanon by Syria before parliamentary elections

02:21 British diplomat of told El Seyassah: Aoun gave Bashar al Assad a detailed list of the names of officers who can be relied upon.

02:00 Elaf : Saudi Arabia will be sending soon a new ambassador to Syria after 3 year absence . Riyadh has already nominated the current ambassador in South Korea, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Alaivan to be the new Syrian ambassador in Damascus

01:50 The White House has announced that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be visiting president Obama in Washington DC on March 3

1:38 Netanyahu declared his readiness to cooperate with Omama to achieve peace in the ME

Sunday

21:00 A bomb in a landmark Cairo bazaar exploded and killed four including two foreign tourists and wounded another 17 people, most of them tourists, on Sunday

20:10 Four armed men assaulted Tarek al-Zein an internal security forces, confiscated his weapons and showered his vehicle with bullets near the Rassoul al-Azam Mosque, in Bourj al-Barajneh in al Dahiya , a Hezbollah stronghold south of Beirut An investigation is underway

20:05 Speaker Berri stressed that Lebanon could not be governed “by one faction , two , three or five but by all the Lebanese,” adding that this was the highest degree of democracy. “If we win the elections, we will not govern alone. I assure you that there will be a national unity cabinet in Lebanon after the 2009 election"

18:50 Information Minister Tarek Mitri left on a trip to Rome to attend a conference on inter-faith dialogue. He said the Christians' cause in this region concerns both the Christian and Muslim sects.

18:40 Geagea following talks with the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon: The state must not condemn the launching of rockets; instead it has the duty to discover who is responsible for firing them.

15:35 Palestinian president Abbas:" We refuse to negotiate with any Israeli government that continues to build settlements." The settlements are communities inhabited by Israelis in confiscated territories

14: 30 A spokesman of Baghdad Operations Command, Major-General Qassim Atta revealed the involvement of Iraqi MP Mohammad Dayni in the bombing of the parliament building in April 2007, which killed eight people, including an MP and the wounding of about twenty others

14:15 Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji, accompanied by a delegation of senior military officers, left for the U.S.at the invitation of the US army command

14:00 Minister Elias Al-Murr headed to the United Arab Emirates today at the invitation of the Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to participated in the exhibition and the opening of the Ninth International Conference of Defense to be held in Abu Dhabi

13:22 VDL: 4 peacekeepers from the Indonesian battalion were wounded in south Lebanon when their military vehicle toppled on the main Edaysseh-Kfar-Kila road, hitting an electric pole.

13:20 VDL: PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt toured a number of towns and villages in Metn, stressing on the need to maintain calm. "May 7 events are now behind us." He told them

12:53 PM Siniora from Sidon: All domestic issues can be solved through dialogue. Arms and intimidation cannot solve anything. We have never succumbed to intimidation , extortion , threats and blackmail and we will not succumb now. We will not back down from our goals. We have no reservations to brotherly ties with Syria and we hope we would be able to discuss issues like border demarcation, arms smuggling and missing Lebanese as the need arises. We were able to survive wars … launch of the international tribunal is approaching. By this, we will have achieved a first step toward bringing back freedom of speech to the Lebanese.

10:45 MP Nabil Nicola to Manar TV: We did not severe ties with MP Michel Murr and we are open to any suggestions.

10:15 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir during Sunday sermon: Security forces must find (kidnapped MEA employee) Joseph Sader at any cost so as not to be accused of handling the case carelessly.

10:10 Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra told Future TV :I think Israel is convinced that Hezbollah didn’t fire the rockets, and we know that most of the Palestinian militant groups in Lebanon are loyal to Syria. Does Syria want to involve Hezbollah in a war?

9:30 Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar told VOL: Hezbollah has no interest in rocket firing. The Katyusha attack was primitive, a sign that those who fired them belong to a party which doesn’t possess sophisticated weapons or that a new party is seeking to

8:44 Radio Free Lebanon: Lebanese army troops and U.N. peacekeepers are patrolling several areas along the border with Israel as investigation into Saturday’s rocket attack continued.

5:41 Al Nahar sources: The firing of the 2 rockets Saturday morning from south Lebanon to Israel was an Iranian reaction to Netanyahu 's statements about Iran

04:50 After Issam Abu Jamra declared his candidacy in the district of Marjayoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, sent a sharp-worded letter to MP Michel Aoun on what he viewed as a provocation and the imposition of a fait accompli in the south and said to him: I am neither Elie Skaff nor Talal Arslan to impose on me your candidates

2:29 A flood of people are coming to Lebanon during the election time and most of the flights to Lebanon between Mid May and early June are fully booked

1:46 Witnesses have confirmed that MEA employee Joseph Sader was taken to Hezbollah stronghold in Dahiya south of Beirut. Hezbollah didn’t deny the report

Saturday
23:10 Larijani: It is "impossible" to deprive Iran of nuclear technology