The Shura Council ( Majlis al-Shura) , the organization’s executive board, is headed by 12 senior clerical members with responsibility for tactical decisions and supervision of overall Hezbollah activity throughout Lebanon

This does not mean the opposition will not be participating. According to al Markaziyah sources , the bulk Hezbollah's share will be allocated to its allies such as General Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.

According to al Markaziyah sources, Hezbollah decided to remain outside the government:
1- To avoid pressure over the implementation of UN resolutions such as 1701
2- To avoid the pressure of disarming and handing over its arms to the Lebanese army. At the same time
3- To allow it freedom of movement as it sees fit during these circumstances
4- It can still exert the same influence internally through its allies

on the future of the Lebanese-Syrian relations. A Saudi delegation is expected to visit Damascus before the end of the week to present Hariri's answers to Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

Yes, this is Lebanon ...where the people vote, but someone else decides for them.

Syria through its allies the Hezbollah-led opposition continues to exert influence in Lebanon and wants to be completely satisfied with Hariri 's answers before giving the green light to Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia is mediating between Lebanon and Syria on this issue .

Based on media reports the math formula 15-10-5 is the most serious formulation that is being considered for the government formation. This formulation allocates 15 ministerial portfolios for the majority, 10 for the minority and 5 for the president. This formulation gives the president much more power , at the expense of the majority but at the same time does not provide the minority with the veto power it has been after.

Thursday

07:50 pm President Barack Obama said that Russia's PM Putin was someone who has "one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new" and stressed that Russia must understand that "old Cold War approaches" to relations with the US belong in the past.

O7:30 pm The Washington Post: The White House says Vice President Joe Biden is in Iraq to visit U.S. troops and meet with Iraqi leaders, including President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He will reiterate the U.S. commitment to carry out President Barack Obama's plan to withdraw combat forces. He also will press Iraqi leaders to make more progress toward political reconciliation.

7:25pm Premier-designate Saad Hariri is offering his condolences to the family of victim Zeina al-Miri in Aicha Bakkar.

7:00 Interior ministry: A Sikorsky N61 firefighting helicopter, which was delivered, to Lebanon two weeks ago, was used for the first time to extinguish a fire in al-Qmatiyeh using 4000 liters of water.

07:10pm March 14 coordinator Fares Soueid rejected Thursday a visit to Syria by the PM-designate Saad Hariri before the formation of the government. "A visit to Syria before a government has been formed for the aim of facilitating the process is rejected both by Hariri and (March 14)," he added

05:10 pm Japan's ambassador to the Vienna-based IAEA, Yukiya Amano was elected by the IAEA's 35-member board of governors as the new chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency to succeed Mohammad al-Baradei

04:58pm Al Markaziyah sources: Hezbollah's Shura Council held a meeting recently and decided not to participate in the new government

04:56pm One person was arrested in Moamalatain when he tried to rent a car using false documents

04:55pm Internal security forces arrested 3 in Akkar wanted in the smuggling of foreigners theft crimes

04:10 pm CNN: Employers in the US cut more jobs than expected in June and unemployment rate climbed for the ninth straight month, hitting 9.5%.

04:04pm US ambassador Sison: The US will is committed to its support for Lebanon and especially its internal security forces

03:46 Riffi : The high technical capabilities of the internal security forces spared Lebanon the terrorism plots and delivered the knockout blow to the espionage and intelligence infrastructure of the enemy

03:40pm a series of fires in the Koura were extinguished by the civil defense

03:40 pm Lebanon's new firefighting helicopter put to use for first time, extinguishes blaze in Aley district

3:30pm Caretaker PM Siniora received Army Commander Jean Kahwaji and the Secretary-General of the Higher Defense Council Gen. Saeed Eid. Discussions focused on military affairs and security measures.

02:15 pm President Michel Suleiman kicks off Beiteddine International Festival

2:12pm President Suleiman paid tribute to security and military efforts for arresting those disturbing the peace.

01:38pm Sakr: Cabinet will be formed, but the formula has not yet been decided

1:15pm A truck overturned at Mdeirej bridge on the international highway, injuring its driver and causing heavy traffic.

12:35pm Hezbollah in response to Ban’s UN report on resolution 1701: Ban should have condemned and held Israel responsible for crimes and their consequences.

12:15pm President Michel Suleiman discussed latest developments with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh.

11:50 AP Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami has joined ranks with the country's embattled reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, and accused the Iranian government of failing its people in the recent election and condemning the subsequent crackdown on protesters.

11:42 Qubaissi told OTV: The investigation will reveal who is responsible for the Aisha Bakkar riots and the death of Zaina Al Miri and this is what we are calling for and we do not want to point fingers at anyone

11:28 Minister karam: The plane that were donated to Lebanon was not used in extinguishing the fire because there was no crew to command

11:15 Army units worked to support the helicopters of the Lebanese Air Force in collaboration with the Lebanese civil defense forces to fight the fires which broke out in several areas

11:02 Senior Syrian source: The Saudi Arabian-Syrian summit will be held on July 16 in Damascus in the presence of Hariri

10:52 The phone lines are still cut off in the Bikirki and specifically the patriarchal headquarters since yesterday

10:48 Patriarch Sfeir met with the ambassadors of Britain, Uruguay

10:42 Al Bayan sources: President Suleiman is hoping to get 5 Ministerial posts representing the major religious sects and is insisting on keeping Interior minister Baroud and defense minister Murr

10:33 Hariri sources: giving up is out of the question for Hariri , will be forming the government and will leave the door for concessions wide open

10:30 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea: " All those calling for dialogue with Damascus every time there is an internal political event are disregarding the sacrifices and the blood spilled by martyrs, " He said and criticized those who allegedly "behave as if the March 14 forces didn't win the June 7 parliamentary elections". He accused the March 8 opposition of "making demands that obstruct democratic and political life in the country "

10:25 Al Anbaa source : the chances of have improved for Bahij Tabbarah and Kamel Mihanna to join the government as part of the president's share

10:22 Iraqi Vice President called Berri and Hariri and congratulated them on being selected to head the parliament and the government respectively

10:20 Reuters - The sole survivor of a Yemeni jet that plunged into deep water while attempting to land on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros was reunited with her father back in France early on Thursday.

10:05 MP Antoine Zahra told LBC: The Syrian regime is giving us a choice between veto power and normalization of ties and forgetting about what happened in Lebanon. This is a return of Syrian meddling in internal Lebanese affairs.

10:00 MP Dory Chamoun told Future TV : Everyone has an interest in formation of cabinet as soon as possible. This requires some concessions.

09:12 Al Mustaqbal sources: The spiritual summit will ask all sides in Beirut to withdraw completely their weapons and their gunmen from the capital

08:59 sources: Aoun is seeking to be represented in the government by four Maronites, 1 Catholic , 1 Druze and 1 Armenians to help him with all communities

08:48 MP Jisr told al Anbaa : Jumblatt's talk about "Lebanon First" requires clarification from him , before I can express my opinion and the motto in question is not coincidental

08:45 " Voice of Lebanon": Bikirki and surrounding region is complaining about telephone line interruptions since yesterday due to work carried out by the municipality in the region

08:32 "The Voice of Lebanon:" The security forces managed to arrest the gunmen who shot at the Al-Hariri educational development compound and he is from the Al-Dirani family

8:30 Former MP Samir Franjiyeh told VOL: Formation of a cabinet, which is not likely to be soon, requires that the opposition admits to its defeat during the elections.

08:29 Hariri left last night to Jeddah to follow up the results of the Riyadh- Damascus consultations and returned to Beirut at dawn

08:06 Future TV: Internal Security Forces detain one person for kidnapping and robbing AUB students in Jebeil

07:40 AFP - Iranian presidential election runner up Mir Hossein Mousavi renewed a demand for a complete re-run of the vote and pledged to help set up a new group to defend citizen's rights.

07:35 Yassin Jaber, the "Voice of Lebanon:" Hariri operates in secrecy which will help to accelerate the formation of the government and we hope that the Syrian Saudi Arabia reconciliation will reflect positively on this issue

7:30 Interior Minister Ziad Baroud told VOL: What happened in Aisha Bakkar is unacceptable. It is our duty to provide maximum security to citizens.

07:14 Berri told "Al-Nahar:" I'm not going to accept that the blood of martyred Zaina el Miri to go to waste ...I consider her like my daughter

07:10 French diplomatic sources: our attention was focused on a perfect election battle and that is exactly how it was , unlike what is happening in many neighboring countries.

07:00 The formula 15-10-5 is being considered the most serious formulation for the government formation ( 15 ministerial portfolios for the majority , 10 for the minority and 5 for the president )

06:48 Berri and Khojah discussed over the phone the outcome of the Syrian Saudi discussions

06:36 President Suleiman is planning to participate in the Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement to be held on July 15 and 16 and the sources did not rule out the formation of the government before this date

06:36 Political sources did not rule out the forming of a government before July 15

06:29 A key opposition leader : the new government will see the light within two weeks

06:07 Neither the French, nor the Syrians are predicting that Hezbollah will be obstructive with regards to the government formation

05:57 A Saudi delegation will visit Damascus before the end of the week to present Hariri answers on the future of the Lebanese-Syrian relations

05:55 French source denies that the Syrians are insisting on a obstructive one third in the government for the opposition

05:42 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed willingness receive the Prime Minister designate Hariri and welcomes his participation in any future summit

05:37 Damascus is looking forward for a national unity government in Lebanon that will be able to govern without constraints

05:25 Sources : the talk about various summits (bilateral or trilateral ) is strictly speculation at this time

Wednesday

09:50pm Minister Marouni told "Future News": We are sorry to see that one of the groups is still affected by decisions of foreign States.

09:45pm Minister Aoun told "Future News": We see a retreat in Hariri's role with regards to the formation of the government in favor of the Foreign moves as if we are unable to form a government that is "Made in Lebanon"

09:34pm prime minister designate Saad Hariri, left for Jeddah this evening

08:27pm judicial police raided some areas of Brital and seized stolen cars and arrested one of the suspects

08:26pm army command announced the arrest of 21 people that took part in the Aisha Bakkar riots

08:15pm OTV : the Lebanese army arrested on Tuesday afternoon, four people from the al Mustaqbal that were involved in Aisha Bakkar riots

08:08pm Interior minister Baroud told New TV: The fire-fighting helicopters are part of the air force, but require special training and we cannot use before the completion of the training which is a matter of days

07:43pm The Hariri Educational Development Complex in Sidon was subjected to gunfire on Wednesday evening by some

As expected the demands are enormous and in order to satisfy all the faction a cabinet of 100 ministers may be needed . General Aoun for example is insisting on seven ministerial posts, up from five in current caretaking cabinet and this is despite the fact that he was described by analysts as the biggest loser in the election.

Sadly, the real solution for the cabinet formation lies elsewhere. According to morning media reports, the cabinet will see the light following a tripartite summit which is being planned in Damascus on July 16 and which will be attended by Saudi Arabia , Syria and Lebanon. According to Arab diplomatic sources, Saudi Arabia is throwing all its weight behind improvement of the Lebanese -Syrian relations and specially between Assad and Hariri.

Despite the fact that all factions are openly calling for calm, what we are really seeing now in Beirut is an ugly reminder of the events that took place on May 7 , 2008 when Hezbollah backed by its pro- Syrian allies occupied west Beirut and tried unsuccessfully to occupy Mount Lebanon. Here are the signs:

* Too many suspicious fires are taking place according to Interior minister Ziad Baroud, despite the fact that the fire season hasn’t started yet
* Too many armed people in the streets of Beirut , according security sources
* Motorcycle processions have been circulating for two days in various parts of Beirut targeting certain houses and institutions within the framework of "provocation and friction", security sources reported
* The armed clash the Sunni neighborhood of Aisha Bakkar , which resulted in the killing of a 30 year old woman and the wounding of six others

The big question on the mind of many Lebanese: Are all these signs meant to pressure Hariri to yield to the demand (of the opposition ) of veto power in the new cabinet ? If so then this is May 7, 2008 again and again.

Wednesday

09:50pm Minister Marouni told "Future News": We are sorry to see that one of the groups is still affected by decisions of foreign States.

09:45pm Minister Aoun told "Future News": We see a retreat in Hariri's role with regards to the formation of the government in favor of the Foreign moves as if we are unable to form a government that is "Made in Lebanon"

09:34pm prime minister designate Saad Hariri, left for Jeddah this evening

08:27pm judicial police raided some areas of Brital and seized stolen cars and arrested one of the suspects

08:26pm army command announced the arrest of 21 people that took part in the Aisha Bakkar riots

08:15pm OTV : the Lebanese army arrested on Tuesday afternoon, four people from the al Mustaqbal that were involved in Aisha Bakkar riots

08:08pm Interior minister Baroud told New TV: The fire-fighting helicopters are part of the air force, but require special training and we cannot use before the completion of the training which is a matter of days

07:43pm The Hariri Educational Development Complex in Sidon was subjected to gunfire on Wednesday evening by some individuals. The incident causes remain unknown. Police and the military rushed to the scene. An investigation is underway.

07:05pm Saudi Ambassador Ali Awad Osseiri told Now Lebanon: Saudi-Syrian talks will reflect positively on Lebanon . Increasing presidential powers normal and necessary step . Security situation in Lebanon is red line, Aisha Bakkar events very regretful .

06:20pm Future Movement MP Nohad Mashnouq said that all the Members of Parliament representing the city of Beirut will continue working until they can declare the capital “a safe city.”

06:10pm A second child may have survived the Yemen Airways jet crash that took place early Tuesday morning.

06:00pm A French government minister has reversed earlier claims that a "black box" recorder from the Yemeni plane that crashed in the Indian Ocean has been found.

05:55 pm The two main opposition candidates in Iran's disputed June 12 election (Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi) refused Wednesday to accept the formally proclaimed victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and branded his government as illegitimate, defying warnings from Iran's leaders that no further protests would be tolerated following official certification of the results.

05:35pm U.S. Embassy: United States is committed to improving the capacity of the Lebanese army and will continue to support the Lebanese government

5:12pm MP Michel Aoun after bloc's weekly meeting: The elections were a market for slave trade. We will challenge the elections results in the place where evidence of irregularities is clear. I believe the formation of the government is still early. We are neither against nor with the president.

4:30pm Hezbollah's second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem said the opportunity was fitting for an efficient accord in a government of national unity. He said the polls produced a delicate balance that prevents one team from overstepping the other.

2:15pm The March 14 general secretariat called for declaring Beirut a demilitarized and safe city.

02:05 pm NY Times : In an apparent sign of the Iranian regime’s edginess after weeks of protests by demonstrators demanding new elections, Ahmadinejad canceled a planned trip to Libya on Wednesday, Reuters reported, but his government did not explain why.

2:00 pm Iranian authorities today temporarily shut down the newspaper of failed presidential contender Mehdi Karroubi, a former speaker of parliament, after it published a letter condemning last month's presidential election and the government's response to allegations of widespread vote-rigging.

1:55pm AFP : Twenty people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in the protests that swept Tehran after the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad last month, the country's police chief Ahmadi Moghaddam said Wednesday.

1:50pm Berri received 2 congratulatory cables today , one from the head of the Arab parliament and one from Patriarch Lahham for his reelection as the speaker

1:45pm four AUB students that were kidnapped by gunmen this morning on the way to Akoura were released

1:33pm Judge Sari is questioning again the detainees in the Bahsas explosion crime

1:26pm President Michel Suleiman told a Chinese Mideast peace envoy that peace cannot be reached without the Arab peace initiative, that guarantees the return of Palestinians, the implementation of resolution 1701 and Israel’s withdrawal from Shebaa, Kfarshouba

12:52pm The Council of Maronite Bishops called for facilitating the formation of a government that would run the country firmly and wisely.

12:30pm NY Times : President Obama, whose campaign for the White House included a pledge to open talks with Iran, said Friday that the prospects for such a dialogue had been dampened by the brutal crackdown in the wake of the nation's disputed elections

12:20 pm AFP - Teenager Bahia Bakari recovered in hospital Wednesday a day after miraculously surviving the Yemeni jet crash off the Comoros feared to have killed 152 other people.

12:15pm Fire is still raging in a number of areas

11:45 Patriarch Sfeir is still presiding over the monthly meeting in Bkirki of the Council of Maronite Bishops

11:35 "LBC": The civil defense units were able to extinguish the fire which broke out at dawn in Hasarat Jubail with the help of Lebanese army helicopters

11:32 MP Hekmet Deeb told LBC: The opposition demands the one-third guarantee of cabinet seats because the last government was among the most successful. The Change and Reform bloc will not withdraw its demand for proportional representation.

11:30 The Iranian Construction Authority built a 700 meter sidewalk on the Lebanese side of the Fatima Gate following a U.N. sponsored agreement between the Lebanese and Israeli sides.

11:29 Ya'qoub told "Free Lebanon radio ": 15-10-5 formula gives the President the role of referee but the opposition should have veto power if the cabinet will be a truly national unity government.

11:28 Security forces foiled a robbery attempt of two cars on Mairoba- Qahmaz road in the Bekaa area

11:16 Salim Aoun "ANB:" We are preparing for an appeal in which we are rejecting the results of the Zahleh election. The best cabinet formation formula should be along the same line as the outgoing government

11:15 mayor of Deir Al Qamar told Voice of Lebanon: The fire did not affect the trees, but only the plants, and I appeal to the people of the Shouf not to burn any dry weeds at this stage

11:12 Body of Iran for the reconstruction of the south pier had to establish on the Lebanese side of the Fatima Gate, the central movement of an Israeli

11;10 FPM's MP Ghassan Moukheiber told Free Lebanon radio station: The cabinet must be quickly formed, since we will face a difficult period on the security, political and economic levels. Aoun's FPM according to observers is the no. 1 obstacle because he is asking for far too many portfolios in the cabinet .

11:09 A "Future " source ": the Saudi effort is aimed at providing specific guarantees to Hezbollah over its weapons

11:05 De Friege told "Free Lebanon radio ": The opposition should take part in the government, but with a smaller number of ministers and the majority must have a minimum of 16 ministers in a government of 30 ministries

11:00 Hariri source : the Christian representation in the next government is the biggest obstacle

10:55 minister Marouni told ANB ": the Phalange party has put forward my names to remain as the Minister of Tourism, but this will be subject to the political balance

10:55 A defective Israeli cluster bomb left over from the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah , exploded and wounded a member of the demining team Mine Action Group (MAG), Abbas Ali Shehade, in Yohmor.

10:50 The health ministry announced that four people coming from Australia were diagnosed with the swine flu, raising the total number of cases in Lebanon to 47.

09:18 Ain Tinah sources: Berri stressed during his meeting yesterday with Kahwaji the importance of conducting a serious and transparent investigation into the Aisha Bakkar incident and the lifting of political cover for all suspects

09:08 Jumblatt sources: the relation with Hariri is good and the issue of privatization is not a matter of dispute

09:00 Ain Tinah sources: If things continue as they the new government will see the light within maximum 2 weeks

08:53 Ban-ki Moon : Hezbollah continues to maintain a military capacity which represents a serious challenge to the State's ability to exercise full sovereignty over all Lebanese territory

8:48 MP Ziad al-Qadiri told VOL: Veto power is rejected. There is no excuse for obstruction or procrastination. Public opinion will hold accountable those who obstruct.

08:48 The civil defense is still trying to extinguish the fires in Der al Qamar in Shouf region and Hasarat in Jebail , after extinguishing fres in Aley , Metn , south and the north of Lebanon

8:45am MP Ammar Houry told Radio Asharq: MP Qobeisi assured us on behalf of Speaker Berri that the Opposition approves the idea of demilitarizing Beirut.

8:45 Central Bank governor Riad Salameh: The market is satisfied with the results of parliamentary elections and with the nomination of Hariri as the next prime minister

08:39 U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told Al Qabas : Hezbollah's weapons are a threat to Lebanon and the region, although it has a popular base and is represented in the parliament

08:35 Jumblatt met Hariri last night at Quraithem in the presence of Aridi

08:10 prices of gasoline was slightly increased to reflect the increase in futures market

7:45 The Council of Maronite Bishops will hold Wednesday morning its weekly meeting that will be presided by Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

7:32 Three gunmen in a Nissan four-wheeler stopped Ali Salim Makki while he was driving on the seaside Tabarja road, forced him out of his BMW X5 and sped away with the man’s vehicle.

7:30 MP Salim Salhab told VOL: The Change and Reform bloc asked for 7 ministers if a 30-member cabinet would be formed. But doors will remain open for all possibilities on condition of forming a government that guarantees partnership.

07:29 VOL: Civil defense reported a fire in Deir al-Qmar and Hasarat in Jbeil

06:57 security specialists have uncovered reports of high proportion of armaments in the Beirut neighborhoods which have raised fear that the street is heading for the worst

06:13 Baroud told "Al-Nahar:" The enormous number of fires is now the subject of an investigation specially since the season of fires has not arrived yet and which makes us really wonder !

06:07 Lebanon attended the discussion between the Assad and Gueant in Damascus. The talks to focused on Lebanon and the region

06:06 Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will travel "very soon" to Lebanon

05:57 Arab diplomatic sources: Saudi Arabia is throwing all its weight behind improvement of the Lebanese -Syrian relations and specially between Assad and Hariri
05:49 sources: the government will be born following a tripartite summit that includes Saudi Arabia , Syria and Lebanon and which will be held in Damascus on July 16

05:39 political sources: President Suleiman is exerting intensive efforts behind the scenes to improve the inter Arab relations to reflect positively on the Lebanese climate of internal stability.

05:32 Motorcycle processions have been circulating for two days in various parts of Beirut and near certain houses and institutions within the framework of "provocation and friction", security sources reported

Tuesday

11:40 pm President Barack Obama on Tuesday lauded the pullout of US forces from towns and cities in Iraq as an important step toward a full US troop withdrawal by 2012, but warned of "difficult days" ahead.

11:33 pm Seven people, at least five of them high-school students, were shot Tuesday at a bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, officials said

11;30 pm US Comedian Al Franken officially won the Minnesota US Senate seat Tuesday, as the state's Supreme Court ordered that he be certified as the winner of last year's election and incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded.

8:22pm Saudi Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja left Beirut for Jedda.

8:19pmGeneral Petraeus left Beirut for Ankara aboard a military plane, after visiting with army chief general Kahwaji

08:17pm FPM's Alan Aoun told OTV : we are dealing positively with regards to a balanced government in which there is no majority and minority

O8:15pm Abi Ramya told New TV: we have requested 7 ministerial posts from Hariri and he asked is to continue to preserve the positive atmosphere and we expect to reach a settlement after some give and take from both sides

08:14pm MP Fatfat told New TV: I expect the formation of the cabinet will take longer than what is being predicted . Despite that fact that Hariri is facing many difficulties , he won't give up, because he is solid and determined to succeed

08:05pm Mitri told MTV: the continued attacks against Gad el Maleh sounds like censorship on cultural issues and this is damaging to the cultural life in Lebanon and will not gain us any friends in our struggle against Israel

08:03pm Future TV: A summit is taking place in Sharm el Sheikh between president Mubarak and Saudi king Abdullah . Other leaders may be asked to join later to complete the pan Arab reconciliation effort

07:50 pm A deadly car bomb in northern Iraq shattered the mood of celebration this afternoon just hours after makeshift bands, dancing teenagers and crowds waving Iraqi flags had marked the withdrawal of American troops from the nation's cities.

07:30pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri meets with Defense Minister Elias Murr to discuss security, current politics

07:20pm Speaker Berri is meeting army chief general Kahwaji

07:11pm A huge fire erupted in Jezzine that destroyed about 60 acres of fruit trees

6:05pm Hariri after talks with Suleiman: I briefed the president on the position of each parliamentary bloc regarding the new government. They were positive. We will continue in this positive climate to reach a formula capable of facing the challenges.

5:30pm Petraeus said he congratulated Defense Minister Michel Murr on the outcome of the June 7 polls and on the peaceful climate that accompanied these elections.

5:00pm Hariri arrived at Baabda Palace to brief Suleiman on outcome of parliamentary consultations.

On the surface that is a strange statement, since we know that with minor exceptions, the demonstrations in Tehran lost steam after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for them to end and security forces asserted themselves. By the conventional wisdom, events in Iran represent an oppressive regime crushing a popular rising. If so, it is odd that the U.S. president would raise the question of what has happened in Iran.

In reality, Obama’s point is well taken. This is because the real struggle in Iran has not yet been settled, nor was it ever about the liberalization of the regime. Rather, it has been about the role of the clergy — particularly the old-guard clergy — in Iranian life, and the future of particular personalities among this clergy.

Ahmadinejad Against the Clerical Elite

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ran his re-election campaign against the old clerical elite, charging them with corruption, luxurious living and running the state for their own benefit rather than that of the people. He particularly targeted Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, an extremely senior leader, and his family. Indeed, during the demonstrations, Rafsanjani’s daughter and four other relatives were arrested, held and then released a day later.

Rafsanjani represents the class of clergy that came to power in 1979. He served as president from 1989-1997, but Ahmadinejad defeated him in 2005. Rafsanjani carries enormous clout within the system as head of the regime’s two most powerful institutions — the Expediency Council, which arbitrates between the Guardian Council and parliament, and the Assembly of Experts, whose powers include oversight of the supreme leader. Forbes has called him one of the wealthiest men in the world. Rafsanjani, in other words, remains at the heart of the post-1979 Iranian establishment.

Ahmadinejad expressly ran his recent presidential campaign against Rafsanjani, using the latter’s family’s vast wealth to discredit Rafsanjani along with many of the senior clerics who dominate the Iranian political scene. It was not the regime as such that he opposed, but the individuals who currently dominate it. Ahmadinejad wants to retain the regime, but he wants to repopulate the leadership councils with clerics who share his populist values and want to revive the ascetic foundations of the regime. The Iranian president constantly contrasts his own modest lifestyle with the opulence of the current religious leadership.

Recognizing the threat Ahmadinejad represented to him personally and to the clerical class he belongs to, Rafsanjani fired back at Ahmadinejad, accusing him of having wrecked the economy. At his side were other powerful members of the regime, including Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, who has made no secret of his antipathy toward Ahmadinejad and whose family links to the Shiite holy city of Qom give him substantial leverage. The underlying issue was about the kind of people who ought to be leading the clerical establishment. The battlefield was economic: Ahmadinejad’s charges of financial corruption versus charges of economic mismanagement leveled by Rafsanjani and others.

When Ahmadinejad defeated Mir Hossein Mousavi on the night of the election, the clerical elite saw themselves in serious danger. The margin of victory Ahmadinejad claimed might have given him the political clout to challenge their position. Mousavi immediately claimed fraud, and Rafsanjani backed him up. Whatever the motives of those in the streets, the real action was a knife fight between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani. By the end of the week, Khamenei decided to end the situation. In essence, he tried to hold things together by ordering the demonstrations to halt while throwing a bone to Rafsanjani and Mousavi by extending a probe into the election irregularities and postponing a partial recount by five days.

The Struggle Within the Regime

The key to understanding the situation in Iran is realizing that the past weeks have seen not an uprising against the regime, but a struggle within the regime. Ahmadinejad is not part of the establishment, but rather has been struggling against it, accusing it of having betrayed the principles of the Islamic Revolution. The post-election unrest in Iran therefore was not a matter of a repressive regime suppressing liberals (as in Prague in 1989), but a struggle between two Islamist factions that are each committed to the regime, but opposed to each other.

The demonstrators certainly included Western-style liberalizing elements, but they also included adherents of senior clerics who wanted to block Ahmadinejad’s re-election. And while Ahmadinejad undoubtedly committed electoral fraud to bulk up his numbers, his ability to commit unlimited fraud was blocked, because very powerful people looking for a chance to bring him down were arrayed against him.

The situation is even more complex because it is not simply a fight between Ahmadinejad and the clerics, but also a fight among the clerical elite regarding perks and privileges — and Ahmadinejad is himself being used within this infighting. The Iranian president’s populism suits the interests of clerics who oppose Rafsanjani; Ahmadinejad is their battering ram. But as Ahmadinejad increases his power, he could turn on his patrons very quickly. In short, the political situation in Iran is extremely volatile, just not for the reason that the media portrayed.

Rafsanjani is an extraordinarily powerful figure in the establishment who clearly sees Ahmadinejad and his faction as a mortal threat. Ahmadinejad’s ability to survive the unified opposition of the clergy, election or not, is not at all certain. But the problem is that there is no unified clergy. The supreme leader is clearly trying to find a new political balance while making it clear that public unrest will not be tolerated. Removing “public unrest” (i.e., demonstrations) from the tool kits of both sides may take away one of Rafsanjani’s more effective tools. But ultimately, it actually could benefit him. Should the internal politics move against the Iranian president, it would be Ahmadinejad — who has a substantial public following — who would not be able to have his supporters take to the streets.

The View From the West

The question for the rest of the world is simple: Does it matter who wins this fight? We would argue that the policy differences between Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani are minimal and probably would not affect Iran’s foreign relations. This fight simply isn’t about foreign policy.

Rafsanjani has frequently been held up in the West as a pragmatist who opposes Ahmadinejad’s radicalism. Rafsanjani certainly opposes Ahmadinejad and is happy to portray the Iranian president as harmful to Iran, but it is hard to imagine significant shifts in foreign policy if Rafsanjani’s faction came out on top. Khamenei has approved Iran’s foreign policy under Ahmadinejad, and Khamenei works to maintain broad consensus on policies. Ahmadinejad’s policies were vetted by Khamenei and the system that Rafsanjani is part of. It is possible that Rafsanjani secretly harbors different views, but if he does, anyone predicting what these might be is guessing.

Rafsanjani is a pragmatist in the sense that he systematically has accumulated power and wealth. He seems concerned about the Iranian economy, which is reasonable because he owns a lot of it. Ahmadinejad’s entire charge against him is that Rafsanjani is only interested in his own economic well-being. These political charges notwithstanding, Rafsanjani was part of the 1979 revolution, as were Ahmadinejad and the rest of the political and clerical elite. It would be a massive mistake to think that any leadership elements have abandoned those principles.

When the West looks at Iran, two concerns are expressed. The first relates to the Iranian nuclear program, and the second relates to Iran’s support for terrorists, particularly Lebanon's Hezbollah. Neither Iranian faction is liable to abandon either, because both make geopolitical sense for Iran and give it regional leverage.

Tehran’s primary concern is regime survival, and this has two elements. The first is deterring an attack on Iran, while the second is extending Iran’s reach so that such an attack could be countered. There are U.S. troops on both sides of the Islamic Republic, and the United States has expressed hostility to the regime. The Iranians are envisioning a worst-case scenario, assuming the worst possible U.S. intentions, and this will remain true no matter who runs the government.

We do not believe that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, a point we have made frequently. Iran understands that the actual acquisition of a nuclear weapon would lead to immediate U.S. or Israeli attacks. Accordingly, Iran’s ideal position is to be seen as developing nuclear weapons, but not close to having them. This gives Tehran a platform for bargaining without triggering Iran’s destruction, a task at which it has proved sure-footed.

In addition, Iran has maintained capabilities in Iraq and Lebanon. Should the United States or Israel attack, Iran would thus be able to counter by doing everything possible destabilize Iraq — bogging down U.S. forces there — while simultaneously using Hezbollah’s global reach to carry out terror attacks. After all, Hezbollah is today’s al Qaeda on steroids. The radical Shiite group’s ability, coupled with that of Iranian intelligence, is substantial.

We see no likelihood that any Iranian government would abandon this two-pronged strategy without substantial guarantees and concessions from the West. Those would have to include guarantees of noninterference in Iranian affairs. Obama, of course, has been aware of this bedrock condition, which is why he went out of his way before the election to assure Khamenei in a letter that the United States had no intention of interfering.

Though Iran did not hesitate to lash out at CNN’s coverage of the protests, the Iranians know that the U.S. government doesn’t control CNN’s coverage. But Tehran takes a slightly different view of the BBC. The Iranians saw the depiction of the demonstrations as a democratic uprising against a repressive regime as a deliberate attempt by British state-run media to inflame the situation. This allowed the Iranians to vigorously blame some foreigner for the unrest without making the United States the primary villain.

But these minor atmospherics aside, we would make three points. First, there was no democratic uprising of any significance in Iran. Second, there is a major political crisis within the Iranian political elite, the outcome of which probably tilts toward Ahmadinejad but remains uncertain. Third, there will be no change in the substance of Iran’s foreign policy, regardless of the outcome of this fight. The fantasy of a democratic revolution overthrowing the Islamic Republic — and thus solving everyone’s foreign policy problems a la the 1991 Soviet collapse — has passed.

That means that Obama, as the primary player in Iranian foreign affairs, must now define an Iran policy — particularly given Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s meeting in Washington with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell this Monday. Obama has said that nothing that has happened in Iran makes dialogue impossible, but opening dialogue is easier said than done. The Republicans consistently have opposed an opening to Iran; now they are joined by Democrats, who oppose dialogue with nations they regard as human rights violators. Obama still has room for maneuver, but it is not clear where he thinks he is maneuvering. The Iranians have consistently rejected dialogue if it involves any preconditions. But given the events of the past weeks, and the perceptions about them that have now been locked into the public mind, Obama isn’t going to be able to make many concessions.

It would appear to us that in this, as in many other things, Obama will be following the Bush strategy — namely, criticizing Iran without actually doing anything about it. And so he goes to Moscow more aware than ever that Russia could cause the United States a great deal of pain if it proceeded with weapons transfers to Iran, a country locked in a political crisis and unlikely to emerge from it in a pleasant state of mind.

Source: www.stratfor.com

The meeting was attended by U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison and focused on reinforcing the defensive capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), its training and logistical needs.

Petraeus then headed to Bliss street for talks with caretaking prime minister Fouad Siniora at his residence in west Beirut

After his meeting with Siniora , Petraeus who was accompanied by Ambassador Sison headed to Quraithem to meet with Prime minister designate Saad Hariri at his residence in west Beirut

Petraeus is set to have meetings with other senior state officials, including Defense Minister Elias al-Murr and Army Commander Jean Kahwaji, to discuss US support for the LAF.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has declared a public holiday and proclaimed June 30 as "National Sovereignty Day."

A senior adviser to al-Maliki says "the withdrawal of American troops is completed now from all cities after everything they sacrificed for the sake of security." Sadiq Al-Rikabi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that "we are now celebrating the restoration of sovereignty."

The move is required under a U.S.-Iraqi security pact.

The Pentagon did not offer any comment to mark the passing of the deadline.

Photo : Iraqis celebrate in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 29, 2009. To mark the milestone, fireworks colored Baghdad's skyline and thousands of people attended a party in a city park late Monday where singers performed patriotic songs.

during a press conference.

"I will meet tomorrow with the president to brief him on the outcome of today’s discussions. After the meeting with the president, we will start serious discussions to form the cabinet.” He added

Hariri wants to see all the Lebanese united in this cabinet .

“We need to form a cabinet in which all parties will be represented, and in which all parties will cooperate each other,” he said. “We should try to get rid of the divisions that hurt the unity in Lebanon.”

Challenges and opportunities

“We all agreed on the dangers that face Lebanon, among which are Israel, the economic threats and the global economical crisis,” he added. “We have also agreed that there are economic opportunities, and that we should grab a political opportunity to open a new page to form a national unity cabinet.”

Hariri stressed the need to launch a political dialogue to determine what citizens really want from their government, saying, “Citizens want job opportunities, security, economy, no security breaches or Israeli threats. They want solutions to the economic problems. The people want stability, security, good economy, and the security forces to control stability.”

“We are building trust, which was lost in the past,” he said.

The question is : Will the opposition respond positively to Hariri's uniting effort ?
Unfortunately the answer may not be in Lebanon.

Let's hope the regional reconciliations we are all hearing about will translate into the type of unity cabinet that Hariri has in mind

Tuesday

11:40 pm President Barack Obama on Tuesday lauded the pullout of US forces from towns and cities in Iraq as an important step toward a full US troop withdrawal by 2012, but warned of "difficult days" ahead.

11:33 pm Seven people, at least five of them high-school students, were shot Tuesday at a bus stop in Detroit, Michigan, officials said

11;30 pm US Comedian Al Franken officially won the Minnesota US Senate seat Tuesday, as the state's Supreme Court ordered that he be certified as the winner of last year's election and incumbent Republican Norm Coleman conceded.

8:22pm Saudi Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja left Beirut for Jedda.

8:19pmGeneral Petraeus left Beirut for Ankara aboard a military plane, after visiting with army chief general Kahwaji

08:17pm FPM's Alan Aoun told OTV : we are dealing positively with regards to a balanced government in which there is no majority and minority

O8:15pm Abi Ramya told New TV: we have requested 7 ministerial posts from Hariri and he asked is to continue to preserve the positive atmosphere and we expect to reach a settlement after some give and take from both sides

08:14pm MP Fatfat told New TV: I expect the formation of the cabinet will take longer than what is being predicted . Despite that fact that Hariri is facing many difficulties , he won't give up, because he is solid and determined to succeed

08:05pm Mitri told MTV: the continued attacks against Gad el Maleh sounds like censorship on cultural issues and this is damaging to the cultural life in Lebanon and will not gain us any friends in our struggle against Israel

08:03pm Future TV: A summit is taking place in Sharm el Sheikh between president Mubarak and Saudi king Abdullah . Other leaders may be asked to join later to complete the pan Arab reconciliation effort

07:50 pm A deadly car bomb in northern Iraq shattered the mood of celebration this afternoon just hours after makeshift bands, dancing teenagers and crowds waving Iraqi flags had marked the withdrawal of American troops from the nation's cities.

07:30pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri meets with Defense Minister Elias Murr to discuss security, current politics

07:20pm Speaker Berri is meeting army chief general Kahwaji

07:11pm A huge fire erupted in Jezzine that destroyed about 60 acres of fruit trees

6:05pm Hariri after talks with Suleiman: I briefed the president on the position of each parliamentary bloc regarding the new government. They were positive. We will continue in this positive climate to reach a formula capable of facing the challenges.

5:30pm Petraeus said he congratulated Defense Minister Michel Murr on the outcome of the June 7 polls and on the peaceful climate that accompanied these elections.

5:00pm Hariri arrived at Baabda Palace to brief Suleiman on outcome of parliamentary consultations.

03:40 pm TMZ: Michael Jackson signed a will in 2002 providing for his children and his mom, but leaving nothing to daddy Joe -- this according to the Wall Street Journal.

03:39 pm Human watch organization: Missile-firing Israeli drones unlawfully killed at least 29 Palestinian civilians during the Gaza Strip war.

03:20pm Reuters - Faults were detected in France in 2007 on the Yemenia A310-300 plane that crashed near Comoros on Tuesday and the airline was under scrutiny, French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said

03:15pm General Petraeus after his meeting with Hariri: "I congratulate the Lebanese people on the successful completion of the parliamentary elections, which allowed the Lebanese to exercise their right to vote"

03:10 pm The Lebanese internal security will receive tomorrow 120 pieces of Traffic Equipment as a US donation in the presence of minister Baroud and US ambassador Sison

03:00 Steve Jobs has officially returned to Apple. The CEO of the Cupertino Crew is reportedly back at work, although his hours and the number of days he spends in the office are still unclear.

02:50 pm Caretaking FPM Minister Mario Aoun told MTV:" If things continue on the same lines of understanding, cooperation and openness I will not rule out that the government could be formed within 3 weeks to 1 month

02:45pm "New TV ": funeral procession of Zaina El Miri in Tareeq al Jadeedah area amidst heavy security and tense atmosphere. Her relatives announced that they will refuse to receive any of the official figures that will come to offer condolences. The 30 year old woman was killed by a stray bullet during clashes between Amal and Mustaqbal supporters in Aisha Bakkar

02 : 40 General Motors Corp. is poised to follow rival Chrysler's path and win approval to sell most of its assets at a hearing set to start today, putting President Barack Obama’s administration almost a month ahead of schedule in its plan to reshape the U.S. auto industry.

02:30: Taliban militants in a northwestern region have scrapped a peace deal with the Pakistani government and vowed to launch attacks, threatening to open a new front against the army already fighting in two areas.

02:25pm The ministry of communications transferred to the Lebanese treasury $85 million and 60 billion LL

02:15pm Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad : We wish prime minster designate Saad Hariri the best of luchk in forming a national unity government in which all will be able to participate

02:11 Saudi-Egyptian summit begins in Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt


02:10 pm Update : At least 15 people were killed and 50 injured overnight in Italy when a freight train hauling liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded as it passed their homes, officials said on Tuesday.

02:06pm A coordinating security meeting took place between Hezbollah and the Progressive Socialist Party in the Dhahiya during which their discussed the development of their field relations and steps to strengthen the civil peace

02:05pm "MTV:" Hariri will not discuss with President Suleiman a specific formula, but will reveal all the proposed formulas in addition to the long list of demands by the parliamentary blocs

01:48pm President Suleiman expressed his concern that the Netanyahu's policies are aimed at aborting the peace process , rejecting the resettlement of the Palestinians and robbing them of their right to return to their homeland

01:30 pm : Bernard Madoff, who confessed to running a Ponzi scheme of more than $50 billion, was sentenced Monday to spend 150 years in prison - a virtual life sentence - after his scheme collapsed amid the financial crisis.
People who invested with Madoff were greedy and happy to accept high returns without probing too much in the way these were achieved, Hugh Hendry, chief investment officer at hedge fund Eclectica, told CNBC Tuesday

1:25pm AP: Police and soldiers clashed with thousands of protesters outside Honduras' national palace Monday, leaving dozens of people injured, as world leaders from Barack Obama to Hugo Chavez demanded the return of a president ousted in a military coup.

1:15pm Petraeus is meeting with PM-designate Saad Hariri.

01:10 pm three bodies of the crashed Yemeni aircraft were found amidst heavy winds and severe weather conditions

1:05 pm A hospital official said on Tuesday that rescuers found a child survivor of the Yemen Airways aircraft , which crashed off the coast of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros early Tuesday morning.

1:00pm MP Mohammed Qabbani after meeting Mufti Mohammed Rashid Qabbani: We asked for a meeting chaired by the mufti and attended by religious authorities in order to have Beirut “a safe city” for all.

12:45pm MP Nadim Gemayel: The slogan of “Lebanon First” does not harm our Arab neighbors. We think that Lebanon and Arabism do not contradict each other. The slogan is a sign that Lebanon’s interest comes before any foreign interest.

12:12pm The licenses for carrying arms were reactivated and their validity was extended till July 31

12:01pm Baghdad's oil ministry said BP and CNPC won the rights to work in the huge Rumaila oil field, which is in the south of the country and has known reserves of 17.7 billion barrels. It is the largest of six fields on offer to foreign and large state-owned firms invited to invest in Iraq's energy sector.

11:59 Judge Antoine Dhaher was appointed to replace Judge Joseph Qazzi in the military court

11:55 Houri Told OTV; The general atmosphere of the parliamentary consultations was positive but the serious discussions will start today

11:54 Al Jazeera : One of the survivors of the Yemeni aircraft that crashed in the Indian ocean was found

11:54 Gen. David Petraeus is meeting with caretaking PM Fouad Siniora at his home in Beirut's Bliss neighborhood.

11;30 Conoco Phillips -led consortium was the sole bidder on Tuesday for Iraq's 2.3 billion barrel Bai Hassan oilfield in northern Kirkuk province, the Oil Ministry said.

11:00 An Nahar : Saudi Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja arrived in Beirut last night as Syria awaits Saudi Response on a number of questions and on PM-designate Saad Hariri's views with regards to future Lebanon-Syria relations.

11:00am Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, met with President Michel Suleiman. U.S. ambassador Michele Sison attended the talks.

10:55 AP Italy : Two cars filled with liquefied natural gas exploded when a freight train derailed in the middle of a small Italian town, setting off an inferno that killed at least six people and injured 50 others, officials said Tuesday.

10:50 BBC: Iraq has begun selling contracts to run six oil fields and two gas fields in a televised auction, which is its first big tender since the invasion of 2003.

10:48 Patriarch Sfeir: We are living tough times and things are not as they should be . We should pay special attention to the file of the displaced so that they could return to their country and their own land

10:46 Mario Aoun told New TV: We insist on 7 ministerial posts and we want real participation in the government

10:46 The ministry of health announced the findings of four new cases of swine flu in Lebanon, bringing the country's total to 43.

10:35 Efram told LBC: I urge the president not to sign any decree for forming a government in which the minorities are not represented , and I would like to hear Christian voices that call for representation of the minorities in the cabinet

10:25 Qubaisy told Future TV: The meeting with minister Murr today will focus on the security situation and the lifting of political cover from all suspects and to stress that the security in Beirut is a red line

10:15 MP Hadi Hobeish told LBC: I advise Hariri not to accept a cabinet in which there is veto power. The Aisha Bakkar clashes will create a counter reaction and won’t give troublemakers what they are after.

10:12 Lebanese Security forces is warning the Lebanese citizens and the tourists not to fall victims to fraud specially because of the presence of counterfeit dollars and advised the citizens to exchange their funds only at banks and official currency changers

09:22 al-Hayat: U.N. Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen expressed optimism at recent developments in Lebanon and lauded Syria for providing a positive atmosphere during the Lebanese parliamentary elections last month

09:20 Reuters - Iraq takes a major step toward reasserting its sovereignty on Tuesday when US combat troops hand urban areas over to its police and soldiers

09:10 AP Singapore - Oil prices jumped above $73 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as a weakening US dollar and attacks on oil installations in Nigeria helped push prices to eight-month highs.

09:05 Yemen Airlines made the following announcement : "Yemenia regrets to announce the crash of Yemenia flight No. IY626 from Sana'a to Moroni with 142 passengers and 11 crew onboard," the carrier said in a statement on its Web site without giving further details.

8:32 MP Hani Qobaisi told VOL: I am optimistic that the cabinet would be formed soon after we saw a positive atmosphere during the consultations. The opposition is awaiting Hariri’s proposal to form a cabinet and we will later adopt a stance.

8:30 MP Mohammed al-Hajjar told VOL: President Suleiman should get a share in cabinet since he is playing the role of arbiter. Cooperation should be held based on the Taef accord.

08:10 Yemen Airways passenger plane A310-300 crashes in the Indian Ocean with 153 people on board , as it tried to land in bad weather on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros

7:35 MP Akram Shehayyeb told VOL: No to one third or two thirds. President Suleiman is the guarantee. Everyone needs a national unity cabinet and understanding.

7:30 MP Alain Aoun told VOL: The solution would be found quickly if the result of consultations leads to a national unity cabinet. We are waiting Hariri’s proposal and we will then adopt a stance.

Monday

09:40pm Saudi Arabia welcomed the election of Nabih Berri as speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and Saad Hariri as prime minister and said the moves would strengthen the country's security and stability.

09:36pm Imad al-Hout: Jamaa Islamiya should be represented by at least one minister

08:55pm Hariri: “No formula for the cabinet has been crystallized yet,” but “all the blocs have shown openness and cooperation.”

07:58pm Iran's electoral watchdog (Guardians Council) confirmed the contested results of this month's presidential election after a partial recount which was boycotted by the opposition. The Guardians Council was accused by the opposition of siding with Ahmadinejad

07:23pm Al-Arabiya TV: Clashes erupt between demonstrators and security forces in Wali al-Aser square in Tehran.

6:50pm Imad al-Hout on behalf of Jamaa Islamiya: We support a national unity government and we hope for the Jamaa to have one minister in the cabinet.
6:32 Hariri is meeting with Jamaa Islamiya bloc.

6:30pm MP Hagop Pakradounian said the Armenian bloc will participate in a government of national unity and demanded two ministeries.

6:17pm Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin telegraphed Saad Hariri congratulating him on his designation for the premiership and voicing hope for future collaboration.

consult on Sunday with all former prime ministers and on Monday he plans to start consultations with parliament members and blocs at the parliament building in downtown Beirut.

Between now and the time of the final approval of a new government the Lebanese will be bombarded with math formulas on the makeup of the national unity government . In addition to the formulas we listed yesterday another one popped up this morning by the Hezbollah led opposition . But Hariri according to well informed sources may not have the patience of prime minister Siniora and may be inclined to tell the opposition " to hell with you " if they will make his task of forming the cabinet very difficult.

According to Hariri sources , the prime minister designate has 2 other options in mind if the opposition will try to obstruct his job in forming the cabinet:

1- Either a cabinet of the majority only similar to what is being done by all democracies all over the world to be formed by him or
2- Another government to be formed by MP Fouad Siniora

Sunday

10:34pm Future TV: One Future TV journalist Assi Azar was subjected to attacks as he was leaving his office in near Bcharra el Khoury intersection

10:00pm Two killed and 2 wounded in the Aisha Bakkar clashes

09:45pm Very little traffic in the residential neighborhoods of the capital specially in el Elyyeh street in Mar Elias where clashes began near Dar el Fatwa

09:43pm New TV : the army is in complete control of the situation in Aisha Bakkar

09:07 pm Heavy LAF deployment in neighborhoods experiencing clashes; Army Command orders LAF to open fire on any armed men on streets

08:44pm Clashes spread to Mosseitbeh and Salim Salam neighborhoods of Beirut

08:35pm One LAF soldier reportedly injured by sniper fire during clashes in Aisha Bakkar neighborhood of Beirut; renewed clashes near Dar al-Fatwa

08:34pm Al-Arabiya TV: Gunshots heard in Mar Elias neighborhood of Beirut

08:14pm Reports of one death and at least five injuries in Aisha Bakkar following clashes between Amal and Future Movement partisans

8:11pm NNA: Gunfire and RPGs were used in the mishap in Beirut's Aisha Bakkar neighborhood.

7:50pm Gunfire is heard in some areas of Beirut and Lebanese troops stepped in to disperse the crowds.

6:15pm Hariri after meeting Saniora: We should put an end to (inter-Lebanese) divisions and open a new page.

05:35pm president Suleiman received a call from the Qatari Emir congratulating him on completion of the election and on nominating Saad Hariri as the next PM

05:15pm PM-designate Hariri meets PM Fouad Siniora at Grand Serail

04:40pm The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) reported on Sunday that more than 2,000 people are detained and hundreds more are missing in Iran since a government crackdown on protests over the disputed presidential election.

3:00pm Netanyahu warns that Lebanon government will be held accountable for Hezbollah actions if the party was part of the new Cabinet.

2:50pm NNA: Jumblat from Baakline, Shouf : I will not participate in any Cabinet that the would utter the word ‘privatization.’

2:00pm Hariri now visits former PM Najib Miqati.

1:30pm Hariri visits ex-Premier Omar Karami.

12:56pm PM-designate Saad Hariri says his meeting with FPM leader Michel Aoun was “good”

12:45pm Hariri decided not to file lawsuits against insults and accusations targeting his person or political affiliation, he hopes that all those involved will repair the damage and come together to rebuild national accord.

12:04pm Hariri is currently meeting with Aoun in Rabieh.

10:40 Minister Ibrahim Najjar told New TV : Hariri will propose a share for the opposition but minus veto power. Another proposition gives the president balancing power within the framework of the Taef accord.

10:32 Carlos Edde told VOL: The National Bloc remains in the same position. Aoun cannot say he represents 70 percent of Christians. March 14 forces emerged stronger after the polls but began losing clout even before the election of parliament speaker.

10:30 MP Imad al-Hout told Future TV: Aoun is in the habit of coming up with unconstitutional slogans at the formation of each government. The majority has the right to govern and the minority has the right to participate but without pre-conditions.

10:15 Premier-designate Hariri plans to meet with former prime ministers: Amin Hafez, Rashid al-Sold, Salim al-Hoss, Michel Aoun, Omar Karami, Najib Mikati and Fouad Saniora.

10:00 Interim Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh returned to Beirut from Rome, where he attended meetings of the quartet committee.

9:30 Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir: The overpricing of petrol does not encourage tourism and I hope the officials will address the issue.

08:24 Awan : Nasrallah advised Hariri to reach an understanding with Aoun on the size of his share of cabinet seats in the government and assured him that Hezbollah and the rest of his allies in the opposition will be satisfied by whatever satisfies Aoun

08:20 MP Sami Gemayel renewed his rejection of the illegal arms of Hezbollah and stressed the importance of the follow up on the issue of Lebanese in Syrian jails

08:15 Syrian newspaper al Watan : The government formation based on the math formula 10 -15- 5 is almost final based on regional and international understanding

07:50 Al Anbaa : Hariri informed close associates that he is not ready to accept any obstruction in forming the government and could resign the post and force the March 14 alliance to nominate Siniora to form the next government

07:20 MP Adwan told al Diyar newspaper The Lebanese Forces are ready to meet Franjiyeh at any time he deems appropriate. We are for giving President Suleiman the key to the balance in the government and the decisive vote

07:06 Sources close to Hezbollah told Al Rai: The opposition will accept the formula of 13-10-7 with the condition that the Ministers of president Suleiman should be subject to its approval

07:03 Saudi Arabia's king Abdullah will be receiving today president Mubarak in Jeddah to discuss regional and international issues

07:01 March 14 sources told Al Rai: Hariri did not accept the nomination to fail

06:59 March 14 sources told Al Rai: If the opposition will continue to obstruct the formation of the government then the only 2 other solutions are : Either a government of the majority only or the nomination of Siniora to form another government

06:55 Al Hayat : Hariri sees no justification for a blocking one third for the minority

06:49 "An-Nahar": Kouchner to visit Beirut on July 9

06:47: Informed sources : The exit strategy call for a formula of 15-10-5 with coordination between Suleiman Hezbollah and and March14

06:38 Sarkozy welcomes the nomination of Hariri and affirmed the continuation of the French support "full and firm" to the sovereignty of Lebanon

06:37 Hassan Fadlallah told "Al-Nahar": Waiting for the translation of the new language of the PM designate into political realities

06:33 Alan Aoun told Al Sharq al Awsat :" we are optimistic about the positive initiative of Al-Hariri and we are not passive and we want a genuine partnership

Saturday

08:07pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives congratulatory cables from French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

07:54pm PM-designate Saad Hariri will begin consultations over the formation of the cabinet in the parliament building on Monday

06:34pm As a former PM , MP Aoun will be receiving tomorrow at 12:30 pm in Rabiyah PM designate Hariri for consultations on cabinet formation . Hariri will be meeting with all former PMs before consultations with parliamentary blocs

05:59pm A huge fire erupted in Batroun and the Lebanese army helicopters are trying to extinguish it

05:48 The shows of artist Gad ElMaleh at the Beiteddine festival have been canceled . He was scheduled to perform on July 13-15

4:09pm Hariri visited the graveyard of his father. He was met by former PM Fouad Siniora.

3:50pm Hariri after his appointment: We will start consultations with all parliamentary blocs. We seek to protect the constitution and extend our hand to our partners in the nation. The issue is not only about the formation of the cabinet. It is about the nation’s fate. He vowed to form a homogeneous and consensus government that is able to remain united.

03:41 Fireworks celebrating Future Movement leader Saad Hariri’s appointment to the position of prime minister are heard in Beirut. No injuries reported

3:30pm Hariri urged citizens not to resort to celebratory gunfire.

3:14pm President Michel Suleiman issued a decree designating Saad Hariri Lebanon’s premier designate and tasking him with forming a new cabinet.

We "will safeguard the constitution, (state) institutions, sovereignty, independence and the project of the building of the Lebanese state," Hariri told reporters at Baabda palace after President Michel Suleiman designated him Lebanon's premier and tasked him with forming a new cabinet.

He vowed to form a "homogeneous" and "consensus" government that is able to remain united and "make achievements away from obstruction" in cooperation with the president.

Hariri also promised to keep strife and "foreign and economic" dangers away from Lebanon.

Suleiman on Saturday designated Hariri Lebanon's premier after the majority of parliamentarians nominated the politician to the post.

"According to the constitution and after the president consulted with the speaker of parliament and parliamentarians, he (Suleiman) summoned Saad Hariri and tasked him with forming a new government," a presidential statement said.

The decree issued by Suleiman came after Hariri received 86 votes of approval by lawmakers following two days of consultations. Hariri got the approval of 71 MPs from his own majority alliance, plus Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his bloc of 12 legislators and two Armenian MPs.

This would be Hariri's first designation to the premiership following the June 7 legislative elections in which the March 14 coalition won 71 out of the 128 seats in parliament.

The 39-year-old is to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, a member of Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement.

From Baabda palace, Hariri headed to downtown Beirut and prayed at his father's graveside along with Siniora and other members of his bloc.

Hariri now faces the difficult task of negotiating with other political factions to form a government. The process can take days or even weeks.

As news broke up about his nomination, celebratory gunfire shook Beirut and its suburbs. However, Hariri urged citizens in a statement not to fire in the air.

Around 16 people were injured from celebratory gunfire on Thursday, when parliament reelected MP Nabih Berri as the speaker .

of national unity.

According to early morning media reports Hariri proposed the formula of 16 +10 +4 (16 ministers for the majority , 10 ministers of the opposition and 4 ministers for the President) to his allies before meeting Nasrallah and this was well received by them.

The same reports indicated that Hariri proposed this same formula to Hassan Nasrallah during their meeting last Thursday , but the Hezbollah leader insisted that the opposition wants the obstructing one third ( meaning 11 out of 30 ministers )

The president according to presidential sources wants a different kind of formula. He is proposing 15 +10 +5 (15 ministers for the majority , 10 ministers of the opposition and 5 ministers for the President.

Yesterdays consultations ended with 67 votes in favor of Hariri as the Prime minister designate . This number of votes ( 67/128 ) is already enough to qualify him to be nominated by the president . The consultations are expected to be resumed today and Hariri is expected to many more votes specially from Tripoli's National Accord and independents.

"What is needed in Lebanon is real democracy and not math formulas", Ali Hussein a Lebanese political analyst told Ya Libnan

March 14 won 71 seats out of 128 member parliament , while March 8 won 57 . In any other democracy , the winners would have proceeded to form the government and would have presented it to the parliament for a vote of confidence , but not in Lebanon, where guns are in charge" Hussein said

Hussein added : "As long as a party such as Hezbollah is allowed to keep its arms and as long as this party uses these arms against the citizens of this country , there can be no real democracy in Lebanon" .

Saturday

08:07pm Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri receives congratulatory cables from French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

07:54pm PM-designate Saad Hariri will begin consultations over the formation of the cabinet in the parliament building on Monday

06:34pm As a former PM , MP Aoun will be receiving tomorrow at 12:30 pm in Rabiyah PM designate Hariri for consultations on cabinet formation . Hariri will be meeting with all former PMs before consultations with parliamentary blocs

05:59pm A huge fire erupted in Batroun and the Lebanese army helicopters are trying to extinguish it

05:48 The shows of artist Gad ElMaleh at the Beiteddine festival have been canceled . He was scheduled to perform on July 13-15

4:09pm Hariri visited the graveyard of his father. He was met by former PM Fouad Siniora.

3:50pm Hariri after his appointment: We will start consultations with all parliamentary blocs. We seek to protect the constitution and extend our hand to our partners in the nation. The issue is not only about the formation of the cabinet. It is about the nation’s fate. He vowed to form a homogeneous and consensus government that is able to remain united.

03:41 Fireworks celebrating Future Movement leader Saad Hariri’s appointment to the position of prime minister are heard in Beirut. No injuries reported

3:30pm Hariri urged citizens not to resort to celebratory gunfire.

3:14pm President Michel Suleiman issued a decree designating Saad Hariri Lebanon’s premier designate and tasking him with forming a new cabinet.

2:57pm President Suleiman holds a meeting with Speaker Berri and MP Hariri.

2:55 MP Hariri arrived at Baabda presidential palace to meet President Suleiman.

2:14pm The result of parliamentary consultations 86 MPs nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

2:03pm MP Nayla Tueni nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

1:50pm MP Dori Chamoun left Baabda palace following his meeting with President Michel Suleiman without making any statements to the press, but reportedly nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership

1:39pm MP Ryad Rahal nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

1:30pm MP Robert Fadel nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

1:20pm MP Michel Pharaon nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

1:15pm MP Robert Ghanem nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

1:10pm Military Command called on the public not to respond to phone calls from Israel.

1:04pm MP Butros Harb nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

12:58pm MP Tamam Salam nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership. President Suleiman currently meeting MP Butros Harb.

12:50pm al-Manar TV: Lebanese and Israeli armies are on mutual alert on opposite side of the border close to the Fatima crossing.

12:46pm President Suleiman began his consultations with independent MPs currently meeting with MP Tamam Salam.

12:14pm MP Imad al Hout of the Jamaa Islamia has nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

12:08 Tashnag parliamentary bloc nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

11:55 The Lebanese Harmony parliamentary bloc nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

11:42 The Tripoli Coalition parliamentary bloc nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

11:23 Armenian Consensus parliamentary bloc nominated MP Saad Hariri to the premiership.

11:16 MP Assaad Hardane of the National and Patriotic parliamentary bloc said his bloc did not nominate anyone to the premiership.

10:56 MP Franjieh: Our stance is that of pr

Talk about flour power: Some 50-400 people began gathering at city bakeries each Thursday at 6 p.m. "We would tell them to buy some bread, then meet outside," says Homayoun through a translator.

When government agents began breaking up these meetings, the movement went underground. It would reemerge after this month's contested presidential election. "For months we have known that the government would steal this election and that the people would rise up," says Homayoun.

Channel One headquarters is nowhere near Tehran--its TV studios sit above a dental office in a Los Angeles strip mall. To document the bloody tactics Homayoun expected Iran's militias would employ, he sent 10,000 camera pens to Tehran for distribution to Ma Hastim members. In the last two weeks, Homayoun says he has sent another, larger shipment of smaller, wearable cameras--devices he does not want to identify--to Tehran. The images snapped by protesters armed with the earlier shipment of tiny cameras now arrive as attachments to as many as 1,000 e-mails a day.

Last week, when an image arrived of a man shooting at unarmed protesters from a rooftop in Tehran, a Channel One staffer enlarged the face of the shooter and aired the image for audiences to see back in Tehran. There, neighborhood residents recognized the man with the gun, found and cornered him, then set him on fire in retaliation, says Homayoun's chief aide, Maryam Azizi. Such retribution is bringing accountability to those attacking peaceful protesters, she says. Other violent acts by members of militias or Revolutionary Guards are photographed and sent back to Los Angeles, winding up on YouTube or on Homayouen's own broadcast that evening.

Aside from its activist agenda, Channel One also chases leads like a typical news organization. It is investigating a tip it has received that 5,000 members of Lebanon's Hezbollah recently arrived in Iran to help put down the rebellion. "We have confirmation they are there," says Azizi.

Nine-year-old Channel One has a $3 million budget drawn from donations by a little over 20,000 contributors, says Azizi. How many are watching? Hard to gauge. Azizi says its 60-person staff broadcasts Channel One around the clock to as many as 10 million Iranians. Audience size depends in part on how aggressively the Iranian regime jams its signal, which comes from the transponder of a French-owned satellite.

Homayoun and his staff will be moving to a larger studio next month, partly due to the stream of incoming threats. "We are coming to behead you," stated one caller. The LAPD and FBI have come by lately, warning staffers that a strip mall is probably not the safest place for them. Azizi doesn't appear rattled. "Tehran would be worse," she says.

Forbes

and has been pointing fingers at the al Mustaqbal bloc members accusing them of breaching an agreement he reached with Hariri.

Berri received 90 votes while Makari received 74 . This means that both Berri and Makari succeeded because of March 14 votes

March 14 has 71 MPs while the opposition has 57 . This means only 3 opposition MPs voted for Makari while 33 March 14 MPs voted for Berri

What is sad is that more than 10 people were injured from celebratory gunfire following the reelection of Berri as the speaker. As soon as the announcement over his reelection was made celebratory gunfire broke out in southern Beirut suburbs . Berri's Amal supporters must have been surprised that their man made it despite his past performance. What is really sad is that one 30 year old woman from the Bazzi family died from a heart attack because the gunfire scared her.

The next step is the formation of the new government

President Suleiman sounded upbeat during an interview with An Nahar . "The general atmosphere is good for creating a government without hindrance or obstacles and I hope that the government would be one productive working team"

Suleiman will start the consultations with the parliament bloc leaders today . Each bloc will name its candidate for premier designate . At the end of the consultations the president is the supposed to name the premier designate based on the recommendations of the parliament blocs. Since March 14 has the parliament majority it is widely expected that Suleiman will be naming Saad Hariri as the Prime minister designate.

Friday

10:55pm MP Ammar told "Al-Manar:" The question today is, "Is everyone now by convinced that Lebanon cannot be governed unilaterally and that the Government of National Unity has become more necessary than ever before?"

10:36pm MP Qabbani told "Al-Manar:" I do not know of anyone from the Al Mustaqbal that did not vote for Berri. It appears that other blocs did not vote for him but remained quiet about it to make Al MUstaqbal look bad.

10:30pm Bishop Kuwaitar was wounded in a traffic accident between Sidon and Jezzine and was taken to the Hammoud Hospital in Sidon for treatment

09:46pm MP Saad Hariri met with the Saudi ambassador and called on the citizens to refrain from any celebratory gunfire or any celebrations that are against the law

09:11pm MP Michel Aoun visited Army chief and praised the army for its efforts on maintaining security and peace

20:17pm MP Houri told Future TV: some are trying to smear the reputation of the Future bloc , but our bloc abided by the agreement 100% , while 3 members of the opposition did not vote for Berri. Some members of Aoun's change and reform bloc did not reportedly vote for Berri to make al Mustaqbal look bad.

07:25pm The first day of consultations for premiership ended . So far Hariri has 67 votes out of 128 , which means he has enough votes to be named by Suleiman as the PM designate

07:25 pm Obama regarding the protests : “I commend the demonstrators courage against barbarism in Iran...I call on the Iranian cabinet to reconsider its behavior in compliance with the Iranian will. What’s happening in Iran is unacceptable.”

07:20 pm Kataeb Party bloc MP Sami Gemayel says the bloc nominates Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri for prime minister because we share the same fundamentals and principles, such as restricting arms to the Lebanese Armed Forces and strengthening the role of the state and its institutions.

07:10 pm Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan: The bloc nominates Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri for prime minister, hopes that all parties will facilitate cabinet formation

07:00pm Zahle in our Heart bloc leader Nicolas Fattouch says the bloc nominates Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri for Prime Minister

06:45pm MP Michel al-Murr nominates Future Movement leader Saad Hariri for prime minister and calls on President Michel Suleiman to form a national unity cabinet without obstruction from any party

06:25pm Hezbollah and Aoun blocs refused to nominate anyone for PM , while Speaker Nabih Berri's whose Development and Liberation bloc nominated Saad Hariri for prime minister.

04:50pm Deputy Speaker Farid Makari said from Baabda: I nominate Hariri for PM

04:27pm Speaker Nabih Berri meets with his Development and Liberation bloc, before meeting with President Michel Suleiman for premiership consultations

03:50pm President Michel Suleiman meets outgoing PM Fouad Siniora for premiership consultations

03:35pm Lebanese Judge Ralph Riachy was unanimously elected to be the tribunal’s deputy president

03:30pm President Michel Suleiman begins premiership consultations with Speaker Nabih Berri

02:25pm MP Saad Hariri met on Friday with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison, UK Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy and Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic.

02:07pm Nassib Lahoud met with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams on Friday and discussed Israel’s violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, while confirming Lebanon’s full commitment to the resolution.

01:54pm Suleiman & Siniora discuss preparations of parliamentary consultations on premiership

02:25pm MP Saad Hariri met on Friday with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison, UK Ambassador to Lebanon Frances Guy and Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Serdar Kilic.

1:52pm Defense Minister Murr received Army Commander Jean Kahwaji and with Director of Military Intelligence Gen. Edmund Fadel. Discussions focused on recent developments and efforts for strengthening the military institution.

1:25pm Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh left to Trieste Italy to attend the Arab Peace Intiative Committee: I shall bring up the issue of continued Israeli violations of UNSCR 1701 and [call] to press Israel to fully implement it.

01:09pm Franjiyeh meets Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon for the first time in four years

12:50pm Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Severiano Teixeira following his meeting with defense Minister Murr: We have affirmed our commitment in aiding Lebanon. We hope the cabinet would be formed as this is as positive, as the election of Berri.

12:45pm Members of Central Inspection Authority were sworn in to duty in front of President Michel Suleiman with outgoing Prime Minister Fouad Saniora attending.

12:15pm Phalange leader Amine Gemayel discussed current events with British Ambassador to Lebanon Mary Guy.

11:45 The health ministry announced that five people were diagnosed with swine flu, raising the country's tally of infections to 35.

11:32 Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah: Celebratory gunfire every time a new official is elected or a leader gives a speech is a sign of backwardness. It is a cold blooded crime that the state has to fight.

11:30 MP Nabil de Freij told Future News: Berri was not reelected because he represents the majority of Shiites. He was reelected because of an agreement between the majority and opposition.

11:02 Hariri and Nasrallah agreed to continue dialogue and lauded the calm atmosphere.

11:00 Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri held talks Thursday night.

10:25 Iran's Guardian Council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said on Friday that there was no fraud in the June 12 presidential elections . "After 10 days of examination, we did not see any major irregularities. The elections were the cleanest we have had," Kadkhodai told the official IRNA news agency. The opposition has accused Iran's Guardian Council of siding with Ahmadinejad, for this reason the council's announcement lacks any credibility according to Iranian sources

10:20 MP Salim Karam told LBC: The lower number of votes that Makari and the rest of parliament bureau’s office got was the result of the opposition’s counter reaction to March 14’s non-commitment to vote for Berri.

08:45 update : The number of reported injuries from celebratory gunfire following the reelection of Berri as the speaker has risen from 10 to 16

8:34 MP Michel Moussa told VOL: Consultations are ongoing within the opposition on the nomination of the premier.

8:30 MP Antoine Zahra told VOL: We saw March 14 unity during yesterday’s session. I expect the nomination of the PM to be easy. The only solution it to give the president the final say in the next cabinet.

7:30 Minister Jean Oghassabian told VOL: Consensus atmosphere continues to prevail. The issue of appointing a premier could be easily overcome. There is a general tendency to name Saad Hariri.

07:22 president Suleiman told "Al-Nahar:" the general atmosphere is good for creating a government without hindrance or obstacles and I hope that the government would be one productive working group

07:16 parliamentary opposition sources told "Al-Nahar:" More than half of the "Future" bloc MPs did not abide by the Berri Hariri agreement, this led to the reaction of the opposition MPs regarding the election of Makari

07:03 MP Suleiman Franjieh sources told As Safir: The Zaghrata bloc will determine its stance today and Franjiyeh will be meeting with the new Saudi Arabian ambassador today

06:53 Talal Arslan's bloc decided to adopt the position of change and reform bloc in not naming Hariri as the premier designate

06:16 Jumblatt: I was not surprised by the result of the election of Berri because some of the allies did not vote him and insisted on making him accountable for his past actions

06:13 Future bloc: the fact that the number of votes obtained by Berri did not reach a 100 is not due to our breaching of the agreement and the reaction of the opposition was harsh

06:12 Opposition sources: a lack of commitment by Hariri could result in a crisis of confidence

06:01 Berri is unhappy with the results of the election and blames the march 14 majority

05:57 Gen Aoun, has decided not to nominate Saad Hariri as the new prime minister

05:44 meeting between Nasrallah and Hariri had become imminent in light of developments in the past few hours

05:36 Lebanese forces: the annexation of Zahlah MPs was agreed upon in advance and the charges against us are inappropriate

Thursday

06:00 pm Safir : Lebanese government sources said the "Israeli side proposed to Lebanese army representatives to move the talks which solely focus on the implementation of UN resolution 1701 "to the bilateral political level between the governments of Lebanon and Israel."

05:40 Al-Arabiya TV broadcasted a message from Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi to the Iranian people on Thursday in which he urged his supporters to continue the peaceful protests. “I will not leave the arena open for those who rigged the elections,” he said. “I will expose those responsible for the disorder.” He added : “Threatening to prosecute me will not stop me from continuing legitimate protests. The Iranian authorities are responsible for the blood bath in Tehran.”

5:30pm NNA reported "unusual" activities by the Israeli army at the border with the deployment of Merkavas and troop carriers.

5:20pm LF leader Samir Geagea called for the arrest of all those who fired celebratory gunshots following Berri's reelection.

05:pm Fire erupted near the garbage landfill in Dora and the army helicopters are trying to extinguish it

4:15pm Hezbollah denounced in a statement the "terrorist" explosion that targeted the Iraqi Sadr city. It warned against "being dragged into a plot to sow disunity."

04:12pm Siniora and salloukh met to discuss the general situation

O3:35pm Berri told al al Manar : I hope to be able to be worthy the trust the people put in me. Hariri will be named the premier after the consultations

hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sharply criticized President Barack Obama.

In another sign of the widening post-election crackdown, 70 university professors were arrested late Wednesday, after a meeting with Mousavi, who has alleged massive fraud in the June 12 vote. The detention of the professors signalled that the authorities are increasingly targeting Iran's elite.

A defiant Ahmadinejad dismissed growing Western criticism of the clampdown, singling out Obama.

"Why has Mr. Obama, who advocates change, been trapped and follows the same path as Bush," state TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying, in a reference to Obama's predecessor.

Before the election, the Obama administration had indicated that it was interested in reaching out to Iran, after years of a diplomatic freeze following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has given no clear signal that it is interested in Obama's overture, and in the wake of the election, the U.S. leader has slowly ratcheted up his criticism of Iran.

Most Parliamnet members boycott Ahmadinejad's victory celebration
Here was also indications that the disputed election has caused a rift among former Ahmadinejad supporters. Several Tehran newspapers reported Thursday that only 105 out of 290 members of parliament attended a victory celebration held by Ahmadinejad on Tuesday. Among the no-shows was Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani.

Crackdown by government authorities
In recent days, demonstrators challenging the election results have found themselves increasingly struggling under a blanket crackdown by government authorities.

In a statement on his official Web site, Kalemeh, Mousavi for the first time discussed what he described as his growing difficulties. He complained of "recent pressures" on him to withdraw his election challenge and said that his access to people has been "completely restricted."

Mousavi also said that because of his growing isolation, verbal attacks on him have increased, including claims that he was associating with foreigners, a particularly touchy issue in Iran where the government has been alleging foreign interference with the election.

The opposition leader suggested he would stand strong. "I cannot modify black as white and white as black," he was quoted as saying. "This is not the solution to expect me to express something in which I don't believe."

On Wednesday, Mousavi met with 70 university professors, said the Web site, Kalemeh. The professors, among a group pushing for a more liberal form of government, were detained after the meeting, the site said. It was not clear where they were taken, the report said.

Meanwhile, another opposition leader, Mahdi Karroubi, has put off a march of mourning for at least 17 people killed in post-election protests. The march had initially been set for Thursday, but has been postponed for at least a week, according to a Web site linked to Karroubi, a reformist presidential candidate.

The site said organizers had not been given permission to hold the gathering.

Source: AP

as the new speaker.

Yes, MP Nabih Berri who along with his Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah allies failed to win the majority in the new parliament on June 7 will be the only candidate for speaker. Berri who obstructed the election of the president for 2 years , who tried to bring down the government for 2 years , who along with his allies occupied downtown Beirut for 2 years , who closed the parliament from 2006 to 2008 and refused to call for any session, who along with his allies occupied west Beirut on May 7 , 2008 , who along with his Hezbollah allies unsuccessfully tried to occupy Mount Lebanon last May 2008 is being supported in his reelection bid by the two leaders that were targeted in the May 7 uprising : MP Saad Hariri and MP walid Jumblatt.

Welcome to Lebanon... where winners are losers and losers are winners

Many people in Lebanon will be asking today: What did we vote for?

March 14 alliance won the June 7th election , but it is the March 8th alliance that is declaring victory.

March 14 won 71 seats out of 128 member parliament , while March 8 won 57 . According to professor Ghassan Karam : "In any other country, all over the world, the winners would have proceeded to form the government, elect a speaker of the house and take steps to start implementing elements of their electoral campaign. But not in Lebanon, that would be too simple."

The story isn’t getting any better either

Berri who knows already he is the new speaker proceeded yesterday to talk about a fusion government . He told AFP let's forget there is a majority and a minority let's have a fusion government. "By fusion, we are not talking about having (a representation of) two-thirds, one third, half, more or less in the government. It means the termination of this division ...." He said

Similarly General Michel Aoun the biggest loser in the June 7th election is now talking about proportional representation in the government . The veto power ( one third plus 1 obstructing vote ) of the opposition that paralyzed the outgoing government is not good enough anymore for Aoun , he now wants 44.5 % ( 57/128 ) of the new government.

Perhaps this should serve as a wake up call for March 14 leaders

The question is what will March 14 leaders tell their constituents in 2013 if they don’t wake up and implement their electoral campaign of 2009?

Thursday

06:00 pm Safir : Lebanese government sources said the "Israeli side proposed to Lebanese army representatives to move the talks which solely focus on the implementation of UN resolution 1701 "to the bilateral political level between the governments of Lebanon and Israel."

05:40 Al-Arabiya TV broadcasted a message from Iranian presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi to the Iranian people on Thursday in which he urged his supporters to continue the peaceful protests. “I will not leave the arena open for those who rigged the elections,” he said. “I will expose those responsible for the disorder.” He added : “Threatening to prosecute me will not stop me from continuing legitimate protests. The Iranian authorities are responsible for the blood bath in Tehran.”

5:30pm NNA reported "unusual" activities by the Israeli army at the border with the deployment of Merkavas and troop carriers.

5:20pm LF leader Samir Geagea called for the arrest of all those who fired celebratory gunshots following Berri's reelection.

05:pm Fire erupted near the garbage landfill in Dora and the army helicopters are trying to extinguish it

4:15pm Hezbollah denounced in a statement the "terrorist" explosion that targeted the Iraqi Sadr city. It warned against "being dragged into a plot to sow disunity."

04:12pm Siniora and salloukh met to discuss the general situation

O3:35pm Berri told al al Manar : I hope to be able to be worthy the trust the people put in me. Hariri will be named the premier after the consultations

03:14pm Siniora the election victory was a victory for the state and I pledge to work hard to make sure the state is the only authority in Lebanon

03:10pm The presidential palace started preparing list of parliamentary blocs for consultations over the naming of premier

03:09pm Five people injured as a result of celebratory gunfire following Speaker Nabih Berri’s re-election

02:59 pm President Suleiman to start premiership parliamentary consultations on Friday

02:11pm Germany ratifies a 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, to pass it to UN chief within days

1:54pm President Michel Suleiman holds a closed door meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at Baabda palace.

1:30pm Parliament Speaker Berri accompanied by Parliament officials arrived to Baabda palace to meet President Michel Suleiman.

01:25pm STL launches secure website for individuals with valuable information. The website is available in the three official languages of the tribunal : Arabic, English and French. The English version is :
https://www.stl-tsl.org/action/submissionform

1:00pm Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc leader MP Walid Jumblat discussed current developments with Russian ambassador to Lebanon Sergei Boukin over lunch.

12:50pm Tor Sarkissian, Michel Moussa and Ahmed Fatfat get posts in new Lebanon Parliament.

12:45pm MPs Marwan Hamadeh and Antoine Zahra were elected Parliament Secretaries.

12:15pm Farid Makari was re-elected as deputy parliament speaker with 74 votes.
11:57 Parliament Members vote to elect a deputy speaker.
11:50 Speaker Berri addressed the parliament : Those who cast blank votes will re-elect me after four years. This parliament has to pave the way towards crossing to the state . He pledged that parliament would continue efforts to liberate Lebanese territories, work on removing mines and guarantee the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.

11:30 The Lebanese Parliament re-elected Nabih Berri for a fifth term as Speaker with 90 votes and 28 blank ballots.

11:03 Voting for speaker started and MPs began casting their ballots.

10:59 MP Abdel Latif el-Zein called for ending division and urged unity and understanding during a speech in parliament. " The condition for success is security, stability, cooperation and consensus through dialogue , he said

10:45 MP Abdel Latif el-Zein opened the parliament session.

10:30 Army Commander Jean Kahwaji arrives at Nejmeh ( parliament ) Square

10:25 Oldest member of parliament Abdellatif al-Zein arrives at Nejmeh Square accompanied by outgoing PM Fouad Siniora

10:19 Al Rai: Hezbollah sources confirmed that the group supports Hariri as the new premier

10:12 Hezbollah bloc arrived at the parliament
10:09 Aoun arrived at the parliament

10:05 Al Qabas : Berri called on Jumblatt and an important Arab personality to convince Hariri to be the next prime minister

10:00 Jumblatt arrived at the parliament accompanied by members of the Democratic Gathering bloc

10:00 MPs began arriving in parliament to take part in the session to elect Nabih Berri as speaker.

9:15 Egypt’s criminal court upheld the death sentence against tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa and ex-police officer Mohsen al-Sukkari for killing Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim.

08:35 Carlos Eddé told "Voice of Lebanon:" We're sorry that there is only one candidate for the speakership and I call on all majority MPs to refrain from voting in order for Berri to succeed with votes of the opposition only

08:32 UNIFIL spokeswoman Bouzaiane: the Lebanese-Israeli military meeting was over the implementation of resolution 1701, particularly the violations of the Blue Line and the issue of the withdrawal of Israel from Ghajar village

08:25 MP Harb told "Voice of Lebanon:" There is an effort to avert the repetition of the atmosphere that prevailed before the election and its seems a calm atmosphere will prevail in the next phase

08:10 Jumblatt said to a close associate that he did not ask Hassan Nasrallah during their meeting to intervene and improve his relationship with Syria, as was widely reported by pro-Syrian press

07:41 "An-Nahar": "Al Mustaqbal MPs are expected to abide by the Hariri decision and fote for Berri , but the independents have the freedom to vote for anyone as they see appropriate

7:30am MP Yassine Jaber told VOL: Things look positive on cabinet formation. Consultations are focusing on the need for March 14 to drop its majority and the opposition to relinquish its veto power in return for giving the president a balancing share.

07:27 Berri will deliver a speech after his election, dealing with all issues raised, including the issue of the agenda of the parliament

07:11 Berri told An Nahar that he was satisfied with the meetings he held with Hariri and Hariri's position as a "positive and open"
07:00 Hariri wants to take his time in holding the consultations , expected to hold a meeting with Hassan Nasrallah and possibly Michel Aoun

06:44 Hariri said many deputies of March 14 expressed during yesterday's meeting at Quraithem their opposition to the election of Berri as speaker

06:39 MP Fattush was absent from the March 14 meeting at Quraithem to protest against the "kidnapping" of three members of his parliament bloc "Zahlah in our heart" by the Lebanese Forces

06:23 Berri is expected to win in the first round with one 110 votes

06:00 Berri is expected to inaugurate his fifth term as speaker by visiting Damascus and Riyadh

05:54 "As safir :" Hariri expressed his desire to head the government after the Doha accord but Ambassador Khoja said that Siniora's time is not up yet

Wednesday

7:35pm Foreign Relations Official in Hezbollah Ammar Moussawi met with French Ambassador to Lebanon Andre Paran.

7:28pm president Suleiman is currently meeting with Hariri at the Baabda Palace.

7:00pm MP Saad Hariri said he endorsed the reelection of Nabih Berri as parliament speaker and pointed to a "new era of dealings" prevailing in the country

6:10pm MP Hariri currently meeting with former Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tinah.

5:19pm MP Makari: We agreed to cooperate with all for the benefit of the Lebanese state. We named our parliamentary bloc “Lebanon Fir

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.

The unrest has exposed unprecedented rifts within Iran's clerical establishment, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who normally stays above the political fray, siding strongly with anti-Western President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The turmoil in Iran has also put back prospects for U.S. President Barack Obama's hoped for engagement with Tehran over its nuclear program, with Ahmadinejad's government blaming Britain and the United States for fomenting violence.

Iran's tough security crackdown has also led Obama to ramp up his previously muted criticism of Iran, with the president saying he was "appalled and outraged" by the violence.

Khamenei has declared the result of the June 12 presidential election that returned Ahmadinejad would stand and said opposition leaders would be held responsible for any bloodshed.

Some 20 people have been killed in the demonstrations, but police and militia have largely succeeded in taking back control of the streets this week after the most widespread anti-government protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Riot police swiftly dispersed a group of about 200 demonstrators with teargas on Wednesday, but the protest was a far cry from marches last week that attracted tens of thousands.

Protest cries of Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) were heard from Tehran rooftops again overnight, although they were much more short-lived than on previous evenings in the capital.

But opposition leaders, though they appeared to have lost the weapon of public protest, were still unbowed.

Reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, who came last in the election, called the new government "illegitimate" and the wife of Mirhossein Mousavi, who says he won the poll, said it was a "duty to continue legal protests to preserve Iranian rights."

Mousavi is backed by influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a pragmatist who favors a less confrontational foreign policy who heads a council of clerics which in theory at least has the power to depose Khamenei.

Mousavi and Rafsanjani met senior parliamentarians on Wednesday. The semi-official Fars news agency said only that the "election and latest developments" were discussed and it was not clear whether the pair were trying to make peace with the hardline-dominated parliament or trying to win support.

PRESSURING IRAN

Having lost the avenue of street demonstrations, Mousavi supporters said they planned to release thousands of balloons on Friday imprinted with the message "Neda you will always remain in our hearts" -- a reference to a young woman killed last week whose image has become an icon of the protests.

Mousavi says the election should be annulled but Iran's top legislative body, the Guardian Council, has ruled this out.

A spokesman for the council, which must approve the poll, said it had looked into all complaints but found no major fraud or irregularities, state Press TV reported on Thursday.

The spokesman said the vote was "among the healthiest elections ever held in the country" since the 1979 Islamic revolution, said Press TV.

The television said eight of those killed in the post-vote unrest were pro-government militia members.

The United States withdrew invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend U.S. Independence Day celebrations on July 4.

It was the first time since Washington cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 1980 that Iranian diplomats had been invited to the embassy parties, but the move to withdraw the invites was largely symbolic as no Iranians had even responded.

"The president's policy of engagement is obviously delayed, but we are going to have to deal with the government of Iran," Senator John Kerry, chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Reuters.

The best U.S. option for pressuring Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil producer, was to drive down crude prices by reducing America's dependence on imported energy, Kerry said.

Iran said it was weighing whether to downgrade ties with Britain after each country expelled two diplomats this week and Tehran's foreign minister announced he had "no plans" to attend a G8 meeting in Italy this week on Afghanistan.

Russia meanwhile said it was sure Iran's election dispute was being resolved according to the law.

"We're confident that all issues that arise in connection with the elections will be decided in accordance to the laws of Iran ... and as we understand that, this is happening," Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.