Security forces found on Thursday an explosive device in the elevator of a building in Beirut where opposition MP Butros Harb has an office after witnesses wrangled with a suspect who was whisked away by a suspicious vehicle.
Police found the device in the elevator shaft of the building that lies in Badaro district’s Sami Solh street a few hours after the suspect carrying a knife was subdued but managed to escape along with two accomplices.
Full StoryThe misunderstanding between some March 14 Christian officials and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has ended and talks between the two sides will continue, a delegation that visited the head of the church in Bkirki announced on Friday.
“If there has been any summer cloud with Bkirki, then it has dissipated,” Phalange leader Amin Gemayel said after holding talks with al-Rahi along with the delegation that included MPs Butros Harb, Strida Geagea and Dori Shamoun, and former lawmakers Nayla Moawad, Fares Soaid, who is also the March 14 general-secretariat coordinator, and Camile Ziade.
Full StoryA March 14 opposition delegation is expected on Saturday to deliver President Michel Suleiman a memo on its stance on the national dialogue that is set to be held at Baabda Palace next week, An Nahar daily reported on Friday.
Sources close to al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora told the newspaper that a parliamentary delegation will present Suleiman with the memo and later hold a press conference to announce its details.
Full StoryMarch 14 opposition MP Butros Harb hoped on Sunday that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat would stop his support for the government to force its collapse.
“Maybe under a certain circumstance, Walid Jumblat and his bloc would change their stance and we could file a vote of no confidence,” Harb said in response to a question as to how the opposition would seek a change of government.
Full StoryFormer Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s efforts to ensure the release of the Lebanese pilgrims who were abducted earlier this week have not gone unnoticed by the rival political camps in Lebanon, with both sides praising his efforts.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated that Hariri “played a very important role” in the release, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyasseh newspaper on Saturday.
Full StoryOpposition MP Butros Harb considered on Friday the photo that As Safir newspaper published on its front page as “evidence of the campaign staged by the March 8 forces on the March 14 coalition” over U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman’s visit to Beirut.
He mocked what he called a “caricature picturing him as bowing to Feltman,” noting that he was “welcoming the guest and directing him to his seat.”
Full StoryA cabinet session that was scheduled to be held at Baabda Palace on Thursday was postponed despite Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel’s pledges to hold the meeting to settle controversial issues.
“It is necessary to hold it to settle several important issues,” Moqbel told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) ahead of the postponement announcement.
Full StoryU.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman held talks with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace on Thursday.
The U.S. official stressed the United States’ support for Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty, and stability.
Full StoryU.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman held talks on Wednesday with Speaker Nabih Berri, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Matar and a number of officials, a day after arriving in Beirut on a two-day visit.
He expressed during his talks “the United States’ steadfast support for pluralistic and democratic governments in the region that protect the rights of all citizens, including ethnic and religious minorities,” announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.
Full StoryMarch 14 opposition MP Butros Harb said Monday that a three-day parliamentary session would not necessarily lead to a vote of confidence against the government of Premier Najib Miqati.
“These sessions could be an opportunity to inform the public opinion about the mistakes that the government is making and the policy that it is adopting, which is harming the country,” Harb told Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio station.
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