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Hizbullah, Israel, Iran, and Turkey are all gearing up for an escalation in the developments in the region over the crisis in Syria, a diplomat told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily in remarks published on Sunday.
He said Hizbullah is preparing for the confrontation by removing its rockets from its hideouts, noting that last week’s Siddiqin explosion took place when the party hastily set up the rockets.
Full StoryThe British Foreign Ministry is studying the possibility of calling on its nationals and those from the Commonwealth states to evacuate Lebanon in light of western reports from Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan that said that Lebanon and Syria are on the verge of an escalation, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.
A British diplomat told the daily that other countries may follow Britain’s example, predicting that the evacuations may take place within a week or two.
Full StoryCabinet may not be held on Wednesday in light of the Change and Reform ministers’ boycott of Friday’s government session, reported the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper on Sunday.
Prominent March 14 parliamentary sources told the daily that Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement will not allow cabinet to convene ever again.
Full StoryFormer Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to issue a number of “decisive” positions on several matters during the Mustaqbal Movement’s Tripoli rally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.
Mustaqbal politburo member former MP Mustapha Alloush told the daily: “Hariri’s speech during the rally will pave the way for a new phase in Lebanon, especially after the recent events in country and the region.”
Full StoryA technocratic government may be the solution to Lebanon’s current crisis over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.
Parliamentary majority sources told the daily that a technocratic government, headed by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, could be formed and it would be able to approve the funding of the tribunal, as well as renew the cooperation protocol between the STL and Lebanon.
Full StoryHizbullah is passing through a state of confusion in light of Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s threat to resign, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.
Party sources told the daily: “Hizbullah did not predict that the situation in Lebanon would reach such a dire extent and it is studying Miqati’s position from all possible angles.”
Full StoryCatholic Patriarchs and Bishops Council urged the cabinet to commit to the international resolutions including the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and for the rise of a civil state based on citizenship and the national charter.
“The state should fortify Lebanon by committing to the international resolution including the STL for implementing justice,” the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops Council said in its 45th annual meeting at Bkirki.
Full StoryPremier Najib Miqati reiterated from Rome that he would resign if the cabinet failed to approve the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
“No one should meddle in the jurisdictions of the premier,” Miqati’s sources told state run Tele Liban TV station.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed on Saturday that Lebanon would not enjoy stability as long as its citizens are in disagreement.
“The authority in Lebanon is practically lost,” Geagea told a delegation of businessmen visiting him at his residence in Maarab.
Full StoryFree Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun urged the Syrian people on Saturday to resort to dialogue rather than violence saying they should hold onto ballot boxes and not bullets.
Addressing a delegation of Syrian women that visited him at his residence in Rabieh, Aoun said: “The Syrian people should not go through the same experience of the Lebanese in the 1970s.”
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