Mona Alami , Inter Press, BEIRUT: A bomb tears through the bustling Chevrolet area on the outskirts of Beirut. Bad news travels fast: Captain Wissam Eid from the Internal Security Forces has been killed in the blast. This is a typical day for Lebanese citizens. The past year has already been grim for most Lebanese businesses. Crisis after crisis has weighed down heavily on the land of the cedars. A permanent protest movement, security problems, a summer war in a Palestinian refugee camp, and sporadic bombings have brought Lebanon to its knees.

But as the political situation tips further in the direction of widespread insecurity, Lebanese businesses around the country are clinging to the motto, "the show must go on." Expansion seems to be the word on the street in Beirut, no matter what the uncertain future may hold. Retailer ABC, a major department store and mall with seven outlets, two main flagship stores and a staff of over 1,000 is currently revamping one of its main branches in Dbayyeh.

"In March, we are also launching a new section extending over an entire floor of 8,000 square meters dedicated to children, dubbed Kidsville. It will also include a 500 square-meter playground, an array of kids' accessories and a coffee shop, La Mie Doree," says Robert Fadel, ABC's general manager. A second big store in the Achrafieh suburb of Beirut is adding an 800 square-meter extension for a playground. The Johnny R. Saade group is also jumping on the expansion bandwagon. Its travel and tourism arm, Wild Discovery, will be setting up shop in Kaslik in a few months.

"We decided to push forward with the opening of new branches in Lebanon despite the prevailing situation, following the simple strategy that one has to invest and position oneself in times of relative crisis to prepare for the inevitable economic and political recovery that can be foreseen," says Sandro Saade, one of the company's owners. "This opening is also justified by a strategic objective to cover the northern Beirut area, where there is a demand for high quality travel services."

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanese Shiite opposition chief Hasan Nasrallah and Christian ally Michel Aoun on Wednesday demanded veto power in a future government to solve the country's protracted presidential crisis. In a rare joint television interview on the second anniversary of their controversial alliance, Nasrallah and Aoun also insisted that their union helped spare Civil War.

We cannot give up veto power because we cannot be mere spectators within the government," Aoun said in the three-and-a-half-hour interview broadcast on his Free Patriotic Movement's Orange TV."It would spell our destruction.""Any attempt to evict the opposition from decision-making is unacceptable," Aoun added.Nasrallah for his part insisted that veto power "is the mechanism that guarantees building trust" with the ruling majority, "The problem today is the loss of trust and any political solution demands trust," Nasrallah said.

So far 13 sessions of parliament called to elect a new president since September have had to be scrapped A new session is scheduled for February 11. Arab League chief Amr Mussa was due to return to Beirut on Thursday after two previous mediation trips last month during which he proposed a three-point rescue plan.

النائب فريد الخازن لـ