Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Thursday the cabinet’s slow performance, saying it was the reason behind his decision to schedule a parliamentary session to assess its work.

He described the cabinet’s performance as a “turtle” and stressed the importance of enhancing its work on all levels.

The presidency and the Maronite patriarchate in Bkirki are expected to issue separate statements on the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon during which the head of the Roman Catholic Church will emphasize that the fate of Christians and Muslims are intertwined.

Highly informed sources told As Safir newspaper on Thursday that the statements will be issued on Sunday to announce the pope’s visit to Lebanon in mid-September and his major stops, including a mass that will be held in downtown Beirut.

Well-known ecologist of Lebanese origin Ali Haidar, who has been heavily involved in the protection of the marine environment, was named minister of ecology in Senegal.

The announcement of President Macky Sall's new government was made late Wednesday, two days after his inauguration ceremony.

The March 14 forces on Wednesday called on Premier Najib Miqati and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to refer the assassination attempt against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

The March 14 General-Secretariat said in a statement it had been following up “over the past hours the circumstances of the assassination attempt against Dr. Samir Geagea in Maarab today.”

Several Lebanese leaders on Wednesday contacted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to condemn the assassination attempt he escaped earlier in the day, as President Michel Suleiman called for “intensifying the investigations in order to unveil and arrest the perpetrators.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri telephoned Geagea, deploring the attempt on his life and describing it as the latest in a long series of political assassinations in Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea revealed on Wednesday that he was the victim of an assassination attempt at his Maarab residence.

He announced during a press conference: “We will not halt our revolution no matter how hard they try and political leaders must take the necessary security precautions.”

Israeli President Shimon Peres stated on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is “more brutal” and “less clever” than his late father Hafez, reported Israeli news website ynetnews.com.

He said while touring the Golan Heights with Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz: “Assad’s fall will be a deathblow to Hizbullah.”

The head of the Israeli Northern Command Major General Yair Golan stated that Hizbullah’s possession of chemical weapons obligates Israel to take the necessary measures to combat them.

He added that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is a “legitimate” target for the Jewish state.

Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Major-General Paolo Serra stressed on Wednesday the importance of marking the Blue Line which is an “essential task of the UNIFIL’s mandate.”

“Completing the process will reduce the potential for incidents and tensions in the area,” Serra said during a ceremony marking the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

The President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath held talks on Wednesday with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza at the Justice Palace, reported the National News Agency.

Baragwanath thanked the Lebanese government and judiciary for their cooperation with the tribunal, starting with the initial investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.