BEIRUT daily – star : President Emile Lahoud said Tuesday that he would step down as president in a matter of months and suggested the formation of a six-minister "national salvation government" to carry the country out of its prolonged political deadlock. Lahoud spoke after a lunch meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in Bkirki. In a meeting between the leaders described afterward by both as positive, talks centered on the narrowing window of opportunity for the country’s two main political camps to come together ahead of presidential elections scheduled for late September.
After Lahoud repeated to Sfeir the opposition’s proposal for a national unity government, the patriarch said he feared that an enlarged government would give way to more political infighting. Lahoud then suggested a six-minister "national salvation Cabinet" to comprise ministers representing the country’s six major sects. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Sfeir, Lahoud said that time was short to reach a solution to the political crisis.
"The solution, as I have said before, and I am sure His Beatitude agrees, is for the Lebanese to sit together as soon as possible and for a national unity government to be established and for the [opposition] sit-in to end, in order to resolve all thorny issues, starting with the issue of the camp," he said, referring to the 10-day standoff between the army and Islamist militants in Nahr al-Bared. Lahoud said such steps were needed to ensure a "good summer season" and that presidential elections are held on time.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament speaker said on Thursday the UN security council had ignored the country’s constitution in voting to set up a tribunal for suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the Security Council had also ignored a need for Lebanese consensus on the court, which the Council on Wednesday voted to set up in a move forecast to cause more instability in Lebanon.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to set up an international court to try suspects in the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, whose death rocked his country two years ago. The legally binding resolution, which was narrowly approved, sets June 10 as the date on which a 2006 agreement between the UN and the Beirut government to establish the court enters into force.
اجتمع رئيس مجلس الوزراء فؤاد السنيورة امس في السرايا بخلية العمل التي اقيمت في رئاسة مجلس الوزراء لمتابعة ازمة مخيم نهر البارد. وقال امام اعضاء اللجنة "ان هذه الحكومة هي الاولى التي ابدت الاهتمام الفعلي والحقيقي والعميق بالفلسطينيين وسعت من خلال خطة عمل تولتها لجنة الحوار اللبناني الفلسطيني الى الحد من معاناتهم في مخيماتهم ولها انجازات على امتداد عام ونصف عام".
طالب العماد ميشال عون باجراء انتخابات نيابية مبكرة في اشراف مراقبين من الامم المتحدة لحل الازمة في لبنان، ورفض "استخدام البطريرك الماروني الكاردينال مار نصرالله بطرس صفير اداة سياسية في الانتخابات الرئاسية اللبنانية".
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: 27 may Many families from the Palestinian refugee camp that has been caught in the battle between Islamic militants and the Lebanese Army have fled the camp, but thousands of people remain trapped inside, a United Nations official said Sunday.The Nahr al-Bared camp, near the outskirts of this northern Lebanese port city, was calm Sunday after sporadic gunfire overnight between the army and Fatah al-Islam militants in the camp punctured a four-day-old truce.
