In a speech on the eve of the Independence Day said President Michel Suleiman called for abolishing political sectarianism :

"To encourage vast participation in political life , a national committee should be established and charged with abolishing political sectarianism ." He said

Sunday
12:00 pm Israel's recent decision to build more homes in Gilo, which Israel says is part of Jerusalem, has ignited more anger among Palestinians who say it's a settlement on land captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and then annexed.

11;30 pm India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh becomes US President Barack Obama's first state guest during a three-day visit to Washington beginning November 23.

11;00 pm Though significant progress has been made in negotiations to free captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, a prisoner exchange deal has not yet been reached, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Sunday.

8;30 pm Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Public Works and Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi on Sunday night at Hariri’s residence in downtown Beirut.
5:30 pm Qatar, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, expects the construction of a railway system will cost 17 billion euros ($25.3 billion) as the Arabian Gulf state seeks improved transport links with its neighbors.

5:00 pm Mohammad Ali Abtahi , a former Iranian vice president has been released on a $700,000 bail in the mass trial of opposition figures accused of fomenting the country's post-election unrest, official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday. It did not say what his sentence was.

4: 40 pm The Internal Security Forces issued a statement on Sunday denying OTV’s Friday news report claiming an ISF agent was tortured during interrogation

4:00 pm OTV : MP Okab Sakr stated that although PM Hariri’s visit to Syria will be one of the most crucial visit abroad, adding that, “without Syria who has its allies in Lebanon, the cabinet would not been formed.”

3:50 England's Lee Westwood achieved a European Tour double on Sunday by winning the season-ending Dubai World Championship and the money-list title. He picked up $2.37 million for his triumph.

3;40 pm VOA: Indonesian transportation officials say at least 15 people were killed and more than 230 were rescued Sunday after a ferry sank in rough waters near Sumatra island.

3;25 pm Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned on Sunday that Turkey cannot resume its role of mediator in indirect talks with Syria."After all the verbal attacks and insults toward us expressed by the Turks, they cannot be considered as mediators between us and the Syrians," he told reporters.
3:00pm BBC : Iran has begun five days of war games to simulate attacks on its nuclear sites, state media report. The head of Iran's air defense said the aim was to thwart aerial reconnaissance of the sites as well as air attacks.

2:30pm Former presidents Amin Gemayel and Emile Lahoud , Hussein Husseini , Salim Hoss and Omar Karami were absent from the Independence day reception at Baabda palace

2:25 pm Hezbollah's Sheikh Qassem: we reject the abolition of the resistance . We are satisfied in advance with what the ministerial policy statement will say about the resistance

2:15pm VOL: Seven Israeli soldiers stepped out of their patrol vehicle at Fatmeh crossing, making provocative gestures toward Lebanese troops which led to friction. UNIFIL troops stepped in to defuse tension.

1;00 pm Hamas says armed groups agree to halt rockets

12:35 Iran insists it needs guarantees over nuclear fuel supply

11:00am Suleiman, Berri, Hariri receive delegations at Baabda Palace congratulating them on the occasion of Independence Day.

10:53 March 14 coordinator Soueid: We Insist that Hezbollah and Iranian arms be under the control of the state

10:30 Khamenei aide: Iran will strike Tel Aviv if attacked

10:15am Military parade on Beirut's Shafiq Wazzan Ave. ends.

9:10am Hawker Hunter jets perform low-level acrobatics at the start of the military parade.

9:01 President Michel Suleiman arrives at the festivities.

8:30am The government kicks off celebrations in Beirut to mark the occasion of Independence Day.

7:38 am Sfeir from Beirut airport before heading to the Vatican: I don’t oppose President Suleiman’s views on the resistance, but there is a difference between the weapons of the resistance and those of the army.

Saturday
8:00 pm President Michel Suleiman addressed the nation on Saturday night, the eve of Lebanese Independence Day: “in order to preserve a fair representation, it is necessary to eliminate political sectarianism.”

6:30 pm Four Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia died from swine flu, the Health Ministry said . They are a Moroccan woman, a Sudanese man an Indian man and a 17-year-old girl from Nigeria

6:30pm Arslan: We are in dire need of being united during these critical times

6:27pm Jumblatt: We stick to the previous Ministerial Policy Statement and there is no justification for changing it

6:24pm Expanded Jumblatt - Arsalan family gathering in Mukhtara , Shouf in the presence of a number of several ministers and MPs