Spotlight
The global police agency Interpol issued on Wednesday issued Red Notices, or international wanted persons alerts, for four men indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on suspicion of the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Interpol said the names would be distributed to police forces but not made public at the request of the U.N.-backed court, although they have already been leaked in Beirut and confirmed as members of Hizbullah.

Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed Wednesday that “Lebanon will not tolerate whatsoever any breach of its oil, gas, water or territory.”
Lebanon “will remain vigilant in order to regain its full rights, whatever it takes,” Qassem vowed.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Wednesday stressed “Lebanon’s right to protect all its borders and defend them against any violation.”
Miqati also emphasized that Lebanon has the right to benefit from its natural resources.

Lebanon has stressed its right to demarcate its maritime border in order to take advantage of its offshore oil wealth, security sources told the Central News Agency on Wednesday.
It demanded, during the regular tripartite meeting between Lebanon, Israel, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon held on the Lebanese-Israeli border at Ras al-Naqoura, that the U.N. take over the matter of demarcating the border.

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi slammed on Wednesday former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s “inciting remarks” against Premier Najib Miqati and himself on Tuesday, saying they “will provoke people against each other in Tripoli and other areas.”
“We had hoped that Hariri would have attended the parliament sessions to grant cabinet confidence instead of talking about in Paris through statements that don’t reflect his position,” said his press office in a statement.

The Syrian Social National Party condemned on Wednesday a Saudi report claiming that the party was behind the assassination of former Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel and attempted assassination of journalist May Chidiac.
It said in a statement: “The report is baseless. It should have investigated the facts by the concerned Lebanese judicial sides.”

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said on Wednesday that he will travel to New York the upcoming week to discuss with the U.N. Security Council the possibility of holding a meeting over resolution 1701.
He stressed after a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Miqati the importance of committing to international agreements according to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 and all the Security Council resolutions.

The March 14 General Secretariat announced on Wednesday the launch of its campaign to topple Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government “through all possible peaceful and democratic means.”
General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said: “We are not keen on creating security unrest and diplomatic problems in Lebanon.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat described in a leaked U.S. Embassy cable General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza as weak, adding that he doesn’t deserve his position.
The WikiLeaks cable dated March 22, 2008, spoke of the MP’s fear of a Hizbullah and Syria-led campaign to release the four generals who were imprisoned for allegedly being involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that the cabinet’s meeting on Thursday will not discuss the interior ministry’s new appointments not regarding the director-general of General Security nor the judiciary police chief.
“These appointments are interlinked with other appointments,” Charbel told As Safir newspaper on Wednesday.
