Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri believed that whoever killed his father does not want him to be in power.
“Whoever killed Rafik Hariri in 2005 doesn’t want Saad Hariri to be in power,” Hariri said in an interview with the New York Times.
Full StoryIsraeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom reportedly said Wednesday that the international community should take steps to prevent Hizbullah from controlling Lebanon.
Israel radio quoted Shalom as saying that the situation in Lebanon is dangerous because Iran controls Hizbullah’s movements.
Full StoryPrime Minister-designate Najib Miqati, who has vowed to maintain national unity, will start consultations to form a new government after President Michel Suleiman appointed him Lebanon's new premier.
Miqati's appointment on Tuesday came amid a "day of rage" by fellow Sunnis who accused him of being a traitor to his sect and betraying former PM Saad Hariri.
Full StoryProgressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat denied he came under pressure to name Najib Miqati for the premier’s post and criticized as “political dementia” accusations that the prime minister-designate represents the Faqih rule.
“I haven’t come under pressure from anyone, neither from Syria nor from Hizbullah,” Jumblat told As Safir daily about his decision to nominate Miqati rather than Saad Hariri.
Full StoryU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expects Lebanon’s new government to abide by its obligation to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, his spokesman said.
Ban “expects any government that is formed in Lebanon to abide by the international obligations that Lebanon has undertaken,” spokesman Martin Nesirky told a news briefing in New York on Tuesday.
Full StoryEuropean Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Tuesday called on Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati to seek the "broadest possible consensus" in forming his government.
"I trust that the formation of the government will take place in full compliance with the constitution. The Prime Minister-designate should seek the broadest possible consensus in forming his government, which is in the interest of the Lebanese people," Ashton said.
Full StorySpecial Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has appointed Sophie Boutaud de la Combe as his Spokesperson and Senior Public Information Officer, his office announced Tuesday.
"Her arrival coincides with the beginning of a new phase in my Office's work following the filing of the indictment. I am confident that Ms. Sophie Boutaud de la Combe's in-depth communication and public information experience will be a strong asset to my Office and will complement my senior team", said Bellemare in a statement.
Full StoryU.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that a Hizbullah-controlled government in Lebanon would "clearly have an impact" on ties with the United States.
The comments came after Hizbullah-backed Najib Miqati was named Lebanon's prime minister-designate, giving the Iran- and Syria-backed armed group increased leverage in the deeply divided country to the anger of many Sunnis.
Full StoryThe Mustaqbal movement condemned on Tuesday the manner in which Najib Miqati was appointed prime minister-designate, saying: "It does not make him a consensual premier, but one that has been imposed on the Lebanese by Hizbullah."
It said in a statement read by former minister Jean Oghassabian: "This practice has destroyed what was left of Lebanon's free democratic system and the bloc affirms that democracy cannot be rectified through weapons."
Full StoryPrime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on Tuesday rejected attempts to cast him as "Hizbullah's man" and said the dispute over a U.N. tribunal that brought down his predecessor could only be resolved through dialogue.
"Don't prejudge me or my behavior, please, especially the international community," the 55-year-old billionaire businessman told Agence France Presse in an interview at his Beirut home shortly after being appointed to form a new government.
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