Spotlight
Three charred bodies were retrieved from a vehicle heading to northern Lebanon after it overturned and burst into flames on the Jbeil-Barbara highway, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.
The agency said the Mercedes overturned multiple times and then caught fire.

The Interpol will not deal with the Syrian arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, al-Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr and Syrian opposition member Louay al-Meqdad in line with its constitution and rules, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported on Thursday.
According to a memo sent by the Interpol to its offices in the Arab countries, the organization decided not to keep the arrest warrants in its database and will not cooperate with them based on its regulations as “it is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of political, military, religious or racial character.”

President Michel Suleiman informed Interior Minister Marwan Charbel that he should continue his preparations for the 2013 parliamentary elections irrespective of vacancies in several posts, An Nahar daily reported on Thursday.
The newspaper quoted Charbel as telling a cabinet session held at Baabda palace on Wednesday that the government was yet to appoint governors and directors of several departments in the interior ministry - posts necessary to prepare for the polls.

Social media like Facebook and Twitter have become important elements in political and social discourse in Lebanon with 34 percent of Lebanese saying they use social networking sites to share their views, a survey showed Thursday.
Among the social network participants in Lebanon, 68 percent said they shared views on politics, 81 percent on community issues and 8 percent on religion, a 21-nation survey made by the Pew Research Center found.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati chaired on Wednesday a security meeting at the Grand Serail to tackle the threats directed against a number of March 14 opposition lawmakers and officials.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said after the meeting: “Regardless of all our training and preparations, we can only provide them with 50-60 percent protection.”

Syria accused on Wednesday former Premier Saad Hariri, Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr, and Syrian opposition member Louay al-Meqdad of committing terrorist crimes, reported Syria's SANA official news agency.
Damascus' First Attorney-General Mohammed Marwan al-Loji stated: “Failure to bring Hariri, Saqr, and Meqdad to justice is a violation of international law.”

Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Wednesday the need to reactivate the functioning of official institutions, starting with the parliament.
He stressed the need to “tackle all national duties that concern Lebanon and the Lebanese people away from political bickering and calculations.”

A mass was held at the St. Demetrius Church in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district on Wednesday on the seventh anniversary of the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni.
Beirut Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audeh, who celebrated the mass, said Tueni's killing “was a big shock to the youth who dreamed of living in peace in their nation.”

First Military Investigation Judge Riyad Abu Ghida set January 14, 2013 as the dates for questioning Syrian officials linked to the case of former Minister Michel Samaha, various media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Syrian security chief Ali Mamlouk and a colonel identified only as Adnan have been summoned to the January hearing.

The Maronite bishops council slammed on Wednesday the threat of assassinations against lawmakers in Lebanon, spread of arms, and the recent unrest in the northern city of Tripoli, noting that these are signs of the loss of the authority of the state.
It said in a statement after its monthly meeting: “Security cannot be established by appeasing all sides, but by taking firm action.”
