By Gulf news- Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer

Beirut: The fate of nine Lebanese Army soldiers, allegedly taken hostage on August 2, 2014 by either Daesh or Fateh Al Sham (former Al Qaida-affiliated Al Nusra Front), gained attention this week after several remains were found near Arsal near the Syrian border

On Tuesday, authorities requested family members to give DNA samples, ostensibly to verify whether they matched with any of those missing. On Friday, local news channels reported that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) would first share the results of various tests conducted over the course of the past 24 hours with family members, before revealing details to the public.

It was unclear, however, when anxious families — some of whom have held a two-and-a-half-year vigil at Riad El Solh Square — would be briefed. Staff members overseeing the matter were mum, however, with Hussain Yousuf, the father of captured soldier Mohammad Youssuf, claiming that he would only trust head of the General Security Major-General Abbas Ebrahim.

Lebanon has acquired a new 30-minister government led by Saad Hariri, bringing together the entire political spectrum except for the Kataeb party …

By Paul Astih - english.aawsat.com

Beirut- Hopes on the formation of the Lebanese government before Christmas and the New Year began fading after the emergence of a series of new obstacles. According to informed sources, several problems, which are hard to overcome, emerged in the past few days, bringing Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s efforts to form the cabinet into a standstill.

Among those obstacles is the insistence of the two main Shi’ite parties – Hezbollah and Amal Movement – on the formation of a 30-member cabinet. Such a request would bring back consultations to square one because they will require a new distribution of portfolios on the different political parties, said the sources.

Other obstacles include the rejection of some political parties to be allocated minister of state posts, they told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Such problems led to concerns at the Center House (Hariri’s residence in downtown Beirut) that the March 8 alliance and their ally President Michel Aoun would try to impose a deal on an electoral draft-law based on full proportional representation in return for facilitating the formation of the government.

By Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer

Beirut: The deputy head of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, Shaikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, urged politicians to produce a new electoral law that fulfils just representation, which means “the adoption of a proportional representation law considering Lebanon as a single electoral district, which allows a Muslim Lebanese to elect his Christian brother and a Christian can elect his Muslim brother in order to make Lebanon a country of true partnership without partiality to any of its components”.

Several versions of a new electoral law are under discussion in Lebanon, topped by proportionality — albeit in different versions — gaining the most traction. Proponents believe that such a law would gradually eliminate reliance on sectarianism while opponents insist that Lebanon’s socio-political make-up would make the country ungovernable because so many parties compete for their share of power. They argue that no clear majority can be elected since doing so would automatically eliminate the smaller but vital components of Lebanese society.

While the National News Agency reported Qabalan’s Friday prayer declarations — a position that was favoured by Hezbollah but rejected by the Future Movement — the head of the Phalange Party, Sami Gemayel, voiced his support for an electoral law that would create smaller constituencies, saying this would best guarantee proper representation.