Amnesty International said Tuesday that no executions were carried out in Lebanon in 2011 for the seventh consecutive year, but cited local organizations as saying that eight new death sentences were issued last year.

The London-based rights group said in its annual review of death sentences and executions worldwide that five of the eight sentences were issued against people tried in absentia.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil criticized on Tuesday a three-day planned strike next week by Lebanon’s oil sector, saying it targets citizens and harms them.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Bassil said: “I am with the citizens and not traders and I reject raising the prices of fuel.”

The cabinet is set to discuss on Wednesday the detailed accounts of the extra-budgetary spending made by the governments of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri between 2006 and 2010.

The information that is detailed by the finance ministry in five separate draft-laws was circulated to cabinet ministers in an appendix for discussion by the government in addition to the 76-item agenda.

President Michel Suleiman will attend the Arab Summit that will be held in Baghdad this week at the head of a small delegation, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to Baabda Palace sources, Suleiman will head Thursday morning to Iraq and depart the same day after he addresses the Arab leaders.

Under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman, represented by the Minister of Telecommunications, Nicolas Sehnaoui, and with the participation of H.E. Riad Salameh, Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, the third annual ArabNet Digital Summit is set to open on Thursday, March 29th at the Grand Habtoor Hotel, Beirut. The Summit is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs and digital professionals in the web and mobile industries in the Arab region and is expected to attract 1,500 attendees for five action packed days of innovation, entrepreneurialism and best practice sharing between regional and global leaders.

In collaboration with the Central Bank of Lebanon and strategic partnerships with Bank Audi, STC, and MBC Group—the summit will feature discussions and lectures involving 150 internationally renowned speakers covering the latest trends and topics in the industry, particularly in relation to the opportunities and challenges created in various industries by the digital revolution. This will include the future of news, television, advertising and digital marketing, as well as mobile applications, online gaming, e-commerce, and other important fields.

The standoff over the issue of electricity continued on Monday, despite a meeting between Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil and phone talks between the premier and Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.

Bassil said he discussed “several issues with the prime minister,” noting that he did not tackle the issue of electricity with him.

The general-secretariat of the opposition March 14 coalition on Monday lauded the political document issued on Sunday by Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood, describing it as “historic in terms of its timing and content” and saying it represents “an essential and landmark addition to the promises of the Arab Spring.”

The Brotherhood vowed on Sunday to share power and respect democracy if President Bashar al-Assad is toppled.

The Phalange Party on Monday condemned a recent incident at the Antonine University, where 37 students performed Muslim prayer outside the administration’s offices in protest at its refusal to provide them with a private prayer room.

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting the party’s politburo condemned “what happened on the campus of the Antonine University, when a number of students of well-known affiliation violated the institution’s bylaws,” warning against “repeating this approach in universities affiliated with Christian religious foundations, especially after the surfacing of attempts to perform similar steps in other universities.”

Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi announced on Monday that he will present an initiative to resolve the dispute over the appointments in the Higher Judicial Council, hoping that the government would reach an agreement over the appointment of the head of the council.

He announced in a press conference that he will present a decree in May on the appointment of five members of the council.

Disabled Man Left Homeless after Collapse of his Zgharta House

A disabled man and his sister have been left homeless after their house in the village of Bou Seet in Zgharta collapsed on Sunday, reported the National News Agency on Monday.