made the announcements about the end of the lunar month of Ramadan last night after confirmation by the moon sighting panels .
The decision to celebrate the end of Ramadan is usually made by the top religious leaders in each country. In Lebanon both the Sunni and the Shiite clerics agreed that it should be today , while in Iraq for example the Sunnis will celebrate today while the Shiites will have to wait till Monday
All the leaders of the Arab and Muslim worlds will be exchanging greetings .
PM designate Saad Hariri who left for Saudi Arabia to celebrate the holiday with his family issued a statement last night in which he congratulated the Arabs and Muslims on this occasion . He is expected to start consultations with parliament bloc leaders next Thursday on the formation of the government .
President Michel Suleiman who issued a similar statement yesterday is expected to head to New York on Tuesday to address the General assembly meeting of the United nations on September 25 th
Lebanon is still without a government and it looks like it won’t have one very soon either . The rival camps are both calling for a unity cabinet, but never been more disunited . The cabinet is expected to be based on the formula of 15 - 10 - 5 ( 15 portfolios for the majority , 10 for the opposition and 5 for the president ) but the opposition and the majority disagree on the types of portfolios each party should have . The opposition is demanding certain portfolios like the ministry of Interior and the ministry of communications , but the majority and for security reasons prefer not to have these 2 ministries in the hands of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition
If it wasn’t for Hezbollah’s arms the March 14 majority which won last June 71 out of 128 seats in the parliament , would have most probably formed a government on its own, just like all the democracies of the world . But Hezbollah in May 2008 used its arms against the Lebanese in West Beirut and Mount Lebanon and there is concern that it will use its arms again against its fellow citizens if it is excluded from the cabinet. Such an action according to politicians like PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt could spark another civil war... which the country could do without ... and for this reason he has been calling for a government of national unity and threatening to boycott any cabinet that is formed by the majority only
Sunday
11;00 pm Russia began to signal a small thaw in relations with the West on Friday in the wake of the US cancellation of an antimissile defense system in Eastern Europe, as NATO offered a reset of its own thorny ties with Moscow.
10:30 pm Barack Obama's efforts to revive peace talks in the Middle East will come under scrutiny on Tuesday when he hosts a meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas.
7:00 pm MP Abi Ramya : We will have no problem if we will be given the ministry of finance and 4 state ministries
2:00 pm BBC President Obama has rejected a request by seven former heads of the CIA to end the inquiry into allegations of abuse of suspects held by the agency.
1 :14pm During a special ceremony at the vocational school in Batloun , Shouf honoring the students that passed the national exams Jumblatt called for paying special attention to vocational education because it provides more job opportunities in countries that needs such qualifications
1:03 pm During phone calls to president Suleiman and PM designate Saad Hariri Sarkozy voices support for Lebanon and for forming a cabinet
11;00 King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cautioned that not seizing the opportunity at hand to bring about peace threatens the security and stability of the whole ME region.
10:59 AFP: An Israeli Army spokesperson said Sunday that some rockets were fired in the morning from the Gaza Strip and landed in Israel without causing any injuries, the army said.
10:50 Mike Huckabee in 2012? If conservative value voters have their way, Former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee may be at the top of the GOP ticket in 2012. Huckabee Won the Values Voter Straw Poll.
10:40 Wiam Wahab told "New" TV: Hariri is responsible for inciting his Mps , and if he is sincere he should return after the eid el Fitr with a new spirit and remove the instigators around him
10:24 MP Yousef Khalil told "Al-Manar:" No prejudice against the third presidential power , unless it does not recognize its own powers . We want to cooperate with the PM designate but we reject the imposition of names on us
10:17 Minister Maroni told "Future News": We are concerned that about the transition of the political to a security crises and what is required is the redoubling of efforts to protect Lebanon
10:10 Sujaan Qazzi told "LBC": The government of national unity is an invention aimed at concentrating all contradictions in a government so that the disruption is from within at a time when we are in a critical need for a properly functioning state
10;00 CNN: US Federal agents arrested a 24-year-old Colorado resident, his father and another man on charges of making false statements as part of an investigation into an alleged terror plot, the Justice Department said Sunday.
9;30 Reuters: President Obama has asked New York Governor David Paterson to withdraw from the state's 2010 governor's race for fear that the embattled fellow Democrat cannot regroup from a series of political setbacks.
9;20 Reuters: Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will unveil a plan to support developing countries in technology and funding to fight climate change at a UN meeting this week, Japan's environment minister said
9:17 French sources : France has changed its strategy for Lebanon and will no longer be involved in every little detail
9;15 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said during his Eid al-Fitr speech in Tehran on Sunday that the "Zionist cancer" is chewing into the lives of Islamic nations.
9:00 The White House has announced in a statement that the US president will host three-way talks with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday.
8:30 BBC: US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has rejected the claim that a decision to shelve a plan for missile defense in Europe was a concession to Russia.
08:23 Al Hayat : French Prime Minister will be in Beirut next Sunday to meet with Suleiman , Siniora Berri and Hariri
08:17 Syrian-backed Palestinian PFLP -GC leader Ahmad Jibril warned the Lebanese government against talking about his weapons or any attempts to disarm his militants by force
08:15 Al Balad: The Lebanese Forces will hold a general assembly conference in the spring of 2010 and the party is expected to will change its rules
07:57 Ayatollah Fadlallah delivered his Eid el Fitr speech and called for ending the cycle of political verbal duel
07:45 Mufti Qabbani al-Fitr delivered his Eid el Fitr speech : Why resort to the language of threats and intimidation and the imposition of conditions? He said in reference to the demands by the Hezbollah-led opposition
07:07 Tomeh : Jumblatt will begin after the end of Eid el Fitr holiday intensive contacts to assist in the formation of the government
06:45 contacts are continuing in order to arrange a meeting for President Suleiman with President Obama in New York
06:35 on Sunday marks the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Lebanon
06:25 consultations over government formation will start next Thursday after the Eid el Fitr holiday ends and Hariri returns from Saudi Arabia
06:20 The weather today is overcast and rainy, accompanied with a drop in temperature
06:14 President Suleiman heads to New York on Tuesday to participate in the General assembly meeting of the United Nations , while caretaker PM Siniora heads to Riyadh on Wednesday
06:10 Siniora told an Nahar : everyone should contribute to the pacification and cooperation for the sake of stability in the country
Saturday
11:00 Iraq's top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Sistani announces that Monday, will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Iraq
10:23 pm : Vice President of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan announces that Sunday, will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Lebanon
10:00pm PM designate Saad Hariri extends greetings to Muslims and Arabs celebrating Eid al-Fitr
8:33pm President Obama extends greetings to Muslims celebrating Eid al-Fitr
7:35pm Dar al-Fatwa announces that Sunday, will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr in Lebanon
6:54 Saudi Arabia and Jordan announce that , Sunday, is the first day of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
3:00 pm VOA : Russia says it has scrapped plans to deploy missiles in a region near Poland after US President Barack Obama canceled plans for a missile defense system in Central Europe.
2:10 pm al-Akhbar: MP Walid Jumblatt has accused the US neocons of rejecting formation of the unity cabinet in Lebanon
2:00pm Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabban to deliver Eid al-Fitr’s speech at Al Amin mosque in central Beirut tomorrow morning at 7:10 am
1:40 pm President Michel Suleiman’s press office issued a statement on Saturday on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, wishing the Lebanese in general and Muslims in particular a “Happy Fitr”.
1:39pm Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah will deliver Eid al-Fitr’s speech tomorrow morning at a mosque in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
