help speed up the formation of the Lebanese cabinet by Prime Minister - designate Saad Hariri
According to diplomatic sources a Saudi-Egyptian summit could take place in Sharm el Sheikh following the visit by King Abdullah to Damascus . The summit according to these sources will be later joined by president Assad, king Abdullah of Jordan, Palestinian president Abbas , Hamas leaders Mishaal and Haniyah
Meanwhile Hariri continues with his consultations . late this afternoon he is expected to kick off his second round of consultations and will start with Speaker Nabih Berri’s parliamentary bloc .
The losers seem to have won the battle of inclusion in the cabinet . MP Michel Aoun is reportedly still insisting on including his son-in-law Gebran Bassil who has lost his parliamentary seat during the June elections and told Hariri yesterday that he has no objection against including al Mustaqbal bloc losers in the cabinet. It was general Aoun himself who insisted in the past that losers in parliamentary elections should be excluded from the cabinet .
According to analysts including losers in the cabinet could be the breakthrough needed to resolve the impasse , but the losers if included will be without portfolios
Recent statements by President Michel Suleiman that he does not mind the appointment of election losers have paved the way for this breakthrough
In Lebanon losers are always the winners as we have already witnessed during the formation of the past cabinets . Last June the March 14 alliance won the elections with 71 parliamentary seats out of 128 , but it is the losing March 8 alliance that is acting as the winner and is setting preconditions for joining the so called “unity government “
Wednesday
10:10pm Aoun: I want four Maronite and one Armenian orthodox ministers. I accept the Finance ministry to be handled by four state ministers although they did not mention that in their newspapers when I suggested it.
9:07pm More than 1,000 feared dead in major Indonesian quake
8:15pm President Suleiman met King Abdullah’s special envoy, Emir Abdelaziz Ben Fahd who conveyed to him the King’s wishes for the formation of a new cabinet able to fulfill its tasks.
7:58pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri concludes cabinet consultations
7:35pm : MP Sami Gemayel following the Phalange bloc meeting with Hariri: We have discussed new ideas and we stressed on the Cabinet formation and the return of investors to Lebanon.
7:22pm Clinton: Iran must meet UN demands or face greater isolation
7:15pm The Phalange Parliamentary bloc is meeting with PM-designate Hariri.
7:00pm MP Anouar Khalil at the end of the "Development and Liberation" meeting with Hariri reiterated the support for speeding up Cabinet formation and "facilitating "this procedure with seriousness and positive attitude . “We have discussed with PM-designate the economic, monetary and social files to restore the citizen's confidence in the state .”He said
6:00pm Hariri is meeting with the Development and Liberation bloc in the 2nd round of parliamentary consultations.
5:00pm A powerful underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia Wednesday, briefly triggering fears of another tsunami for countries around the Indian Ocean.
4:00pm A huge emergency effort is under way in the Samoan Islands after towering tsunami waves triggered by an 8.0 earthquake left dozens dead and entire villages flattened or submerged.
3:15pm Tension in the town of Majdel Anjar . The army has intensified its deployment following the killing of 2 wanted people during the morning raid. One member of the army was wounded as a result of the raid
3;10 pm Al Jazeera: Iran is entering talks with six world powers over its nuclear program this week with good intentions, the Islamic Republic's chief nuclear negotiator has said.
3;00 pm Reuters: Israel will free 20 Palestinian women for information from Hamas on the condition of an Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security source and the Israeli prime minister's office said on Wednesday.
2:15pm The March 14 forces slammed blatant Syrian interference in Lebanese political life through the official Syrian media’s attacks on the political system in Lebanon.
2:05pm Geagea: The telecom ministry should be given to someone who doesn’t obstruct the work of security agencies.
2:00pm Geagea: There is no personal problem with Telecommunications Minister Gebran Bassil. Appointment of election losers will apply to everyone if the green light was given.
1;45 pm caretaker minister Gebran Bassil announced during a press conference on Wednesday that he filed a complaint against the Lebanese Forces official website for slander and libel.
1:15pm Speaker Nabih Berri met the Emir of Mecca Prince Khaled al-Faisal. The Saudi ambassador attended the talks.
1:10pm LF leader Samir Geagea met with U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison.
11:51 Speaker Berri begins his weekly parliamentary sessions at Nejmeh Square
11:39 MP Ammar Houri told Voice of Free Lebanon: What we have read in the Syrian dailies “Tishrin” and “Watan” does not bode well. It also comes in contrary to Taef Accord. Hariri will not visit Syria before government formation.
11:37am Cabinet Minister Antoine Karam told VOL: A technocrat government under the current circumstances is the best solution.
11:10am Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir received a phone call from President Michel Suleiman who congratulated him on his safe return home from the Vatican.
10:00 After examining the suspicious suitcase spotted near near Rizk Tower, it was found to be empty.
9:25 MTV: Two wanted men were killed in the Bekaa Valley town of Majdal Anjar in an exchange of fire with the Lebanese army.
9:15 VOL: Security forces cordoned off the area near Rizk Tower to examine a suspicious suitcase that was found on the roadside.
8: 42 : Today Saudi Arabia and Syria will officially announce the schedule of the visit of Saudi King Abdullah to Damascus
8;40 Karam told VOL: a government of technocrats may be the best solution considering the present circumstances
08:40 to parliamentary sources did not rule out that Hariri may expand the consultations to include economic establishments and civil institutions
08:24 Al Liwaa: Hariri will meet Saturday president Suleiman to review the outcome of the consultations over government formation
08:22 Hariri will resume later today a new round of consultations and will meet Amal and Kataeb blocs
08:21 diplomatic sources expect a Saudi-Egyptian summit in Sharm el Sheikh after the visit by King Abdullah to Damascus . The summit will later be joined by Syrian president Assad, king Abdullah of Jordan, Palestinian president Abbas , Hamas leaders Mishaal and Haniyah
08:09 U.S. official: Miqdad talks in Washington were good and all agreed that Lebanon is for the Lebanese
07:59 al Akhbar : Jumblatt in Paris to meet with his Syrian friend Hikmat Shihabi
07:56 Sayyed will be interviewed by "Der Spiegel"
07:47 Israeli military document: Hezbollah's better intelligence
07:38 MTV To lay off 60 of its staff for financial reasons
7:30am MP Hani Qobeissi told VOL: Things on Cabinet formation are moving positively. A follow-up meeting between Hariri and the Development and Liberation bloc today will be the last meeting.
07:21 Mikhtarian: we did not ask the opinion of anyone when we named Hariri as prime minister . we make our own decisions
06:50 source in the "Change and Reform Bloc": the bloc is going to meet with Hariri with a spirit of openness
06:44 a meeting soon between Berri and Aoun
Tuesday
8:40 LBC: The visit of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz to Damascus is scheduled for October 6
