Spotlight
Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour revealed on Friday that his ministry finished a detailed report over the Exclusive Economic Zone and referred it a month ago to the cabinet’s general secretariat.
He wondered in comments published in As Safir newspaper why the issue wasn’t set for discussion on the cabinet’s agenda.

Speaker Nabih Berri revealed that he will study an official request to strip MP Moeen al-Merehbi of his parliamentary immunity as the March 14 opposition alliance lashed out at Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi threatening to resort to article 39 of constitution.
“I will study the matter before sending the request to the parliament's bureau and the administrative committee,” Berri told An Nahar newspaper on Friday.

A Sunni sheikh and three others were killed during clashes in the northern city of Tripoli as intermittent gunbattles rocked the neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen on Friday for a fifth straight day.
Sheikh Khaled al-Baradei, 28, was killed from sniper fire when fierce fighting broke out at dawn between the residents of Qobbeh district and Jabal Mohsen despite an agreement reached on Thursday to give the army the green light to restore order in Tripoli.

Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Najib Miqati stressed on Friday that their ties remain strong despite their differences on the government’s performance.
“There is no personal problem with Miqati. Our relations are good,” Berri told As Safir newspaper.

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld the convictions and sentences of three men, including a Lebanese, found guilty in Ohio of recruiting and training terrorists to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati turned down 10 issues on appeal in the Toledo case involving Mohammad Amawi, Marwan el-Hindi and Wassim Mazloum.

A meeting held Thursday at Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s residence in Tripoli urged the army to restore security in the areas of the clashes “by all means necessary,” stressing that “the jeopardizing of civil peace in Tripoli and entire Lebanon will not be tolerated.”
The conferees “discussed the means to find a radical solution to this dilemma that has become a threat to civil peace in Tripoli and across Lebanon,” said a statement released by Miqati’s office.

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali hoped that Lebanon would fortify its border with Syria and prevent the smuggling of arms and infiltration of gunmen into Syrian territory, reported al-Nour radio on Thursday.
He told the radio: “Lebanon must fortify its internal scene and avoid responding to international pressure on Syria.”

The pope's safety could be at risk during a planned visit to Lebanon next month, a Jesuit priest who was recently forced to leave Syria warned Wednesday.
Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Lebanon from September 14-16 to bring a message of peace and call for greater respect for religious pluralism.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Thursday that the “battles in Tripoli” will not affect the Syrian crisis, despite being linked to it.
He told the PSP website: “The Tripoli unrest is aimed at diverting attention from the Syrian crisis.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri lashed out at LBCI channel for broadcasting a report claiming that he received huge financial aid from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“This report is completely false,” Hariri’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.
