Spotlight
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted Tuesday that “the seventh anniversary of the Cedar Revolution is taking place amid circumstances that reflect the struggle of the March 14 supporters, which was baptized in blood with the fall of a group of martyrs for the sake of freedom, sovereignty and independence.”
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc vowed to “stay the course towards completing the transition to statehood,” saying the state “must extend its exclusive authority over the entire Lebanese territory.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Tuesday called on the Palestinian people to “hold on to their rights and to continue the struggle,” condemning the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and describing him as “an expert in bloodletting.”
“Netanyahu – who is an expert in bloodletting – is pouring out all his wrath on besieged Gaza after he failed to market his idea about a military strike against Iran,” Jumblat said in a communiqué issued by the PSP.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday snapped back at Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea who has criticized the stances of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on the Syrian crisis.
“I’m not surprised by the campaign against the patriarch, but even at the peak of our dispute with the Maronite patriarchate, we did not launch such remarks against this spiritual post,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc in Rabiyeh.

Kurban Travel, a pioneering destination and travel expert with 60 years of proven track record in Lebanon, announced the official launch of its all new interactive web portal www.kurbantravel.com.
The website was designed as a comprehensive travel and tourism platform where customers can view and book their next dream holiday: the most attractive deals and the latest packages including flights, hotel reservations as well as car rental arrangements and cruise trips.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday slammed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s stances on the Syrian crisis, saying his remarks “put all the Christians in the region in danger.”
“I can’t hide the fact that his statements had infuriated me, as they support the regime and contradict with our entire history and I cannot be proud of this rhetoric,” Geagea said in an interview on MTV.
The new Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Norman Farrell, and the new Appeals Chamber Judge, Daniel Nsereko, have been sworn in Monday afternoon, announced the STL in a statement.
“It is my devout hope and expectation that, with both Prosecution and Defense teams in place and the Chambers now back to full strength, we can together deliver justice in accordance with the law,” said Judge Sir David Baragwanath, the Tribunal’s president, in remarks delivered during the swearing in ceremony.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati called for an emergency meeting at the Grand Serail to tackle the rise in the discovery of spoiled food products in Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.
Miqati in coordination with Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas sought to hold a meeting on Wednesday with Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and high-ranking officials from the general security, the state security, the army intelligence and the customs.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday slammed the Syrian regime, accusing it of committing "butchery against its people."
At least 8,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime began in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Security forces have raided a house near the coastal town of Jbeil in the search for the killer of two men whose bodies were found in a rented vehicle on the Tabarja highway, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported Sunday.
The station said that the policemen raided the home of a man which it identified with his initials as J.K. VDL said however that the suspect hasn’t been found yet.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and the Phalange and National Liberal parties exchanged accusations on Sunday on the side that triggered a clash between student demonstrators and the security forces during a protest against a new history curriculum.
Charbel, who is currently in Tunisia at the head of a delegation representing Lebanon at the meeting of Arab interior ministers, told An Nahar daily that the clash broke out on Saturday when some demonstrators sought to allow a vehicle with a loudspeaker to go beyond the area specified for the protest.
