Earlier reports indicated that Abdullah will arrive during the weekend , based on the Syrian information ministry but this morning it was confirmed that he will be there Tuesday.
Some reports indicated that the reason behind the delay of the summit in Damascus is the Saudi desire to include Egyptian president Husni Mubarak and Lebanese president Michel Suleiman . Ya Libnan could not obtain any confirmation that the Saudi wish will be met
There were also some reports indicating that PM designate Saad Hariri may visit Damascus during the summit , but morning reports indicated that such a visit by Hariri is unlikely before the formation of the cabinet
Even though Syria was forced to withdraw its forces from Lebanon following the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 ( father of the PM designate) , it retains influence through its Hezbollah-led allies.
Hezbollah which is funded and backed politically and militarily by Iran is being accused by the parliament majority of using its Christian ally General Michel Aoun , to block the formation of the cabinet until it receives the green signal from Iran. Samir Geagea, a key member of the March 14 majority alliance is convinced that Iran is trying to use the Lebanese card for gains during its negotiations with the west over its nuclear program and for this reason it wants to block the formation of the cabinet until it concludes such a deal
Realizing that Syria is behind the obstruction of the formation of the cabinet , French president Nicolas Sarkozy has dispatched Elysee Secretary-General Claude Gueant to Damascus to urge the Syrian leadership to facilitate the Cabinet line-up within a maximum period of 10 days. Sarkozy also dispatched his envoy Henry Guaino to Lebanon to meet with key Lebanese leaders to stress French support for Lebanon's sovereignty, freedom and independence.
According to An Nahar newspaper Guaino will inform Suleiman about Sarkozy's keenness for cabinet formation "without delay" and will express French concerns about any new obstacles facing Hariri.
According to political advisers the summit in Damascus is behind the rescheduling of the meeting between Aoun and Hariri . Both were supposed to have had a lunch meeting yesterday to work out a deal on cabinet lineup but the meeting was postponed till next Wednesday
Sunday
8:10pm MP Butros Harb told New TV: If I were to choose between a consistent government and a majority one, I’d choose the latter.
7:35pm Al-Manar TV: Sarkozy’s envoys to Damascus have not discussed the Lebanese situation in the meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
7:30pm Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki: Israel poses a threat not only to the region but also to Europe and to the United States.
7:25pm Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalife: Lebanon is one of the first countries to reserve large amounts of N1H1 ( swine flu) vaccines that are to arrive in January.
3:40pm Speaker Nabih Berri called Secretary General of the League of Arab States and urged him to change his position on postponing discussion of “Goldstone’s Report” concerning Israeli aggression on Gaza.
3:20pm LBC: 2 were wounded as a result of clashes in Ain Tabbaneh , Tripoli between the el Daraweesh and el Kurdi family . One of the wounded was identified as Ahmad el Daraweesh
03:14 MP Sami Gemayel : what is scary and illogical is that every decision requires voting by a majority vote of two thirds and this is a change in the constitution which we totally reject
3:08pm Security source told LBC : the talk about 7000 illegal gulf residents in Lebanon is an exaggeration aimed at scaring people and to divert attention from the deportations by the UAE of Lebanese expats
2:32pm Al Jadded TV: The UAE authorities will issue a statement within the next few hours to clarify its position with regards to the deportation of the Lebanese expats
2:15pm OTV : The Saudi king will visit Damascus either Wednesday or Thursday next week
1;30 pm Firing rockets and rifles, Taliban militiamen attacked American and Afghan military outposts in a daylong siege on Saturday that killed eight US soldiers and two Afghan security forces in one of the deadliest battles ...
1 :13pm Aoun said during his speech at the graduation ceremony of FPM students : There is nothing shameful about my history and I won’t commit any shameful act in the future and I hold you responsible for my success in the future
12:47pm Free Shiite Movement : Tension in the Bekaa town of Shmistar following the attack by Hezbollah supporters against the uncle of Sheikh Hajj Hassan , leader of the Free Shiite Movement
12:20 pm Landslides buried two families in the Philippines as they sheltered in their homes from Asia's latest deadly typhoon, which killed at least 16 people and left more than a dozen villages flooded Sunday.
12:00pm Hezbollah MP Fneish: the government of national unity is a necessity and no one can stand against its creation and the talk about a change in the government formula is worthless since this will take us back to square one
12:00pm CNN: United Nations inspectors will visit Iran's recently disclosed nuclear power plant on October 25, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency announced Sunday from Tehran.
11;30 With no outside help in sight, villagers used their bare hands Sunday to dig out rotting corpses, four days after landslides triggered by a huge earthquake obliterated four hamlets in western Indonesia.
11:20 A military court in Beirut has sentenced two Lebanese nationals Mehdi al-Hajj Hasan, his son, Haidar, and Libyan fugitive Abdel Salam Mohammed to life in prison and hard labor over charges of planning to murder Libya's prime minister. They wanted to revenge the disappearance of Shiite leader Imam Moussa el Sadr who disappeared in 1978 during his visit to Libya
11:18 caretaker health Minister Khalife told Russia today : the number of Swine flu cases is expected to rise during the fall and winter seasons , because it is going to be difficult for doctors to differentiate between the regular influenza and swine flu
10:20 Fadi Habr told Al Jareeda : I expect a government soon supported as a result of the Saudi Syrian summit
10:10 caretaker justice Minister Najjar told future TV: the delay in government formation will lead to a regime crises in Lebanon
08:31 Sources from the majority told al Anbaa newspaper : No government in Lebanon before the Saudi Syrian summit in Damascus
08:27 Aoun will deliver a speech during the graduation ceremony of FPM students
07:49 Al Hayat : The government could be formed within one week and the visit to Hariri before cabinet formation has been ruled out
07:43 Awan newspaper : hundreds of Gulf tourists did not depart from Lebanon at the end of their holidays and there is a big concern that they remained in the country to join terrorist groups
07:13 Minister Marouni told al Balad : we got used to the fact the devil is in the details. We congratulate Aoun for calling Hariri PM designate instead of MP designate
06:55 Geagea : we are not concerned about the security situation unless the opposition wants to start bombing activity
06:30 Opposition sources : No date has been fixed for the Aoun Hariri lunch meeting and no government before the visit of the Saudi monarch to Damascus
20:35 Hezbollah congratulated Hamas on the freeing of women jailed in Israeli prisons.
Saturday
8:25pm Henry Guaino told MTV: The problem is not just Lebanon’s current situation but that of the Middle East as a whole.
8:10pm OTV: Hariri’s 'lunch' with Aoun to take place next week.
7:45pm President Suleiman met Industry French Minister Christian Estrosi and discussed bilateral and mutual industrial relations between both countries.
