Adel Jamil Bejjani was beaten to death by unidentified men In Nigeria
Naharnet /Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour confirmed the death of a Lebanese citizen in Nigeria on Saturday, the state-run National News agency reported.  “Adel Jamil Bejjani was beaten to death by unidentified men during a robbery operation,” he told NNA.Mansour noted: “Based on President Michel Suleiman's recommendation, we have contacted the Lebanese embassy in Nigeria's Abuja and we have been informed that Bejjani's body will be transferred to Lebanon on Monday.”“The embassy will follow-up on the investigation with concerned Nigerian authorities.”LBCI television had said earlier on Saturday that Bejjani was killed at his home in Nigeria during a heist operation. The same source elaborated: “The 29 years old man worked in the domain of hotel management in the African country for less than a year.”“He was planing on leaving Nigeria to reside permanently in Lebanon on May 5.”Attacks on Lebanese citizens in Nigeria have been frequent in recent years.On March 27, the NNA revealed that three Lebanese were kidnapped in Lagos, a rare case of expatriate kidnapping in Nigeria's commercial center. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said the kidnappers have asked for ransom while the NNA did not report how the kidnapping occurred.

Report: Six Hizbullah Fighters Killed in Qusayr Battles
Naharnet/..Fighters loyal to Hizbullah were killed on Saturday in battles near the Lebanese border around al-Qusayr, according to activists. The Local Coordination Committees in Syria reported that six members of Hizbullah were killed in battles in Reef al-Qusayr in Homs. Qusayr-based activist Hadi al-Abdallah identified the names of Hizbullah fighters. The men according to al-Abdallah are: Haidar Mohammed Ayyoub, Hussein Hassan Barakat, two men from al-Saleh family, a man from al-Salhab family and a member of Tleis family. The municipality of the sourthern town of Rab Thalatheen morned in a post on its website fighter Hussein Hassan, pointing out that his funeral was at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Also Bint Jbeil's municipality website mourned fighter Haidar Mohammed Ayyoub on its website, who “died while he was performing his jihadist duty.”
Hizbullah has announced several burials in past months, without elaborating on the circumstances of its members' deaths. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the opposition say the army is backed by elite fighters from Hizbullah, a staunch backer of Assad's regime. Hizbullah's involvement in Syria's spiraling conflict has been condemned by the Syrian opposition, which views it as a "declaration of war," and by the March 14 alliance in Lebanon. Much of the heaviest fighting has raged near the Lebanese border around al-Qusayr. Since it began in March 2011, Syria's conflict has fueled local tensions between the communities in Lebanon, with bouts of street fighting and kidnappings. Hizbullah had previously denied taking part in the civil war. But top Hizbullah official Nabil Qaouq said Monday that his group is "performing a national duty" toward Lebanese Shiites living in Syrian border towns and villages by supporting the "popular committees." The Local Coordination Committees in Syria said that the opposition rebels were killed in Saturday's regime forces shelling on Homs.

Hezbollah critic Sheikh Hassan Mshaymish to fight “revenge trial”
Now Lebanon/ By: Alex Rowell
Shiite cleric convicted of collaborating with Israel determined to prove innocence with appeal
After nearly three years of detention by Syrian and Lebanese authorities, a Shiite cleric has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on charges of collaboration with Israel – charges that activists and his lawyer say were fabricated in a bid to silence the cleric’s criticism of Hezbollah. The verdict, handed down by the Lebanese Military Tribunal on April 15, is set to be appealed.
Sheikh Hassan Mshaymish was first arrested in Syria in July 2010 on undisclosed charges. The Syrian government’s official silence on his continued detention prompted criticism from Amnesty International, and his family alleges he was tortured during this period. He was transferred to the Lebanese authorities in October 2011, after which he was formally accused of collaboration with Israel, a crime under Article 278 of the Lebanese penal code.
Mshaymish had in fact been a member of Hezbollah until the late 1990s, after which he became an outspoken critic of the party and its ideological adherence to wilayat al-faqih, the authoritarian system of religious government pioneered by the late Iranian Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. As NOW has previously reported, a number of prominent Lebanese Shiite critics of Hezbollah have long maintained that it was these open attacks on the powerful Syrian ally – typically expressed in his monthly publication Difaf (“the riverbanks”) – rather than any dealings with Israel that led to Mshaymish’s arrest.
As is typical of cases handled by the military tribunal, no information pertaining to the trial has officially been made public. However, a legal source involved with the case who requested anonymity due to its sensitivity told NOW the evidence presented by the prosecution chiefly comprised telephone records purporting to show calls made by Mshaymish to Israelis. Mshaymish’s lawyer, Antoine Nehme, alleges these records were falsified, and claims to possess originals proving as much that were ignored by the court.
In addition, the legal source told NOW the prosecution had pointed to a meeting Mshaymish had in Germany in 2005 with an individual whom he suspected of working for “an intelligence apparatus seeking to collect information about Hezbollah.” Mshaymish himself informed Hezbollah of the meeting upon his return to Lebanon. In court, says the source, Nehme argued this meeting failed to violate Lebanese law; first because the man Mshaymish met was German, not Israeli, and second because Article 278 pertains only to divulging information about the Lebanese government, not a party such as Hezbollah.
Adding to these question marks is the comparative lightness of the sentence, which some commentators have interpreted as further evidence of the dubiousness of the charges. (Collaboration with Israel carries a maximum sentence of death.)
“Is it logical that his sentence is only five years for cooperating with the enemy?” asked Ali al-Amin, al-Balad journalist and a fellow Shiite critic of Hezbollah who has campaigned for Mshaymish’s release.
“This trial is political, it’s not based on any evidence. It is a revenge trial, to punish Sheikh Mshaymish for his stand against Hezbollah,” Amin told NOW.
Similar sentiment was expressed by Lokman Slim, another Shiite supporter of Mshaymish who has raised awareness of his case through his “Hayya Bina” NGO.
“For someone collaborating with Israel, five years is not exactly the heaviest sentence he could receive,” Slim told NOW. “So for me the philosophy of such a sentence is that it achieves a moral assassination of Mshaymish. It’s neutralizing and killing the man symbolically, a kind of murder without blood.”
Looking ahead, Mshaymish still has a chance of clearing his name with a successful appeal. The legal source told NOW that Nehme, the defense lawyer, is confident of overturning the verdict.
Yet Slim told NOW the appeal, even if successful, would likely take a long time, adding to the two years and nine months of detention Mshaymish has already undergone.
“The appeal could take years. Given he’s already served nearly three years in prison, he could end up serving the full five years with his appeal still in process.”
*Yara Chehayed contributed reporting.

Man Shot Dead in the Neck on Metn's Falougha Road
Naharnet/Khouzai Najib Hatoum was found dead in his car on Saturday after receiving two gunshots in the neck, the state-run National News Agency reported. “The body of Hatoum was discovered in his gray Kia Picanto on the Falougha-Metn road that leads to (the Mountain region of) Hammana,” the NNA detailed. “He was shot with a 12-millimeters hunting gun from a close distance.”The same source said that the 53 years old man hails from the Mount Lebanon town of Kfarsalwan.Security authorities have launched an investigation in the incident.The NNA remarked that Mount Lebanon General Prosecutor Arlette Tabet and coroner Ahmed al-Meqdad have came to the location where the body was found to inspect it."Al-Meqdad confirmed that Hatoum was killed with a hunting gun," the NNA noted. The victim's body was transferred to al-Jabal Hospital in al-Metn's Qornayel town.

Bogdanov Concludes Lebanon Visit, Reportedly Urges Hizbullah to Cease Fighting in Syria
Naharnet /Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov concluded on Sunday his four-day visit to Lebanon, during which he voiced his concern over the possible spread of the Syrian unrest to Lebanon.
The daily An Nahar reported Sunday that he had called on Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from Syria out of the concern that the fighting may spread to Lebanon.
Such a development may further complicate the Syrian crisis and place Hizbullah before the danger of a collapse that may lead to complete chaos in Lebanon, circles monitoring the Russian official's talks told the daily.
Bogdanov had held talks on Saturday with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, particularly Syria.
The Russian official had stated from the airport ahead of his departure on Sunday that his talks with Lebanese figures focused on the latest local and regional developments.
“Our visit helped us develop a vision regarding the future of Lebanese-Russian ties,” he told reporters.
Hizbullah has been recently severely criticized for helping Syrian regime troops in their battles against armed rebels.
Syria's opposition says the Homs town of al-Qusayr has in the past week become the focal point of Syria's spiraling war and that Hizbullah has joined regular and militia fighters loyal to President Bashar Assad to try to crush the insurgency there.Bogdanov held talks during his Lebanon visit with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Premier Najib Miqati, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, and major political leaders.

Pan-Muslim Body Urges Release of Captive Syria Bishops
Naharnet /The Organization of Islamic Cooperation urged on Saturday an "unconditional" release of two bishops kidnapped this week in Syria.
OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned the kidnapping on Monday of Aleppo's Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim by armed men as they were en route to the northern city from the Turkish border. He called in a statement for their "immediate and unconditional release because such act contradicts the principles of true Islam, and the (high) status held for Christian clergymen in Islam."The head of the 57-member organization of states said Christian clergy always "lived in dignity and honor in the countries of Islam."No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but sources at the Greek Orthodox Church have said the kidnappers are "Chechen jihadists."Christians account for around five percent of Syria's population. They have become increasingly vulnerable to attack and abductions in the lawlessness that has engulfed much of the country since an uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted two years ago. Source/Agence France Presse.

Salam: Officials Must Assume their Responsibilities to Avert Dangers against Lebanon
Naharnet /Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam noted on Sunday that Lebanon is passing through a critical phase, hoping that all sides would exert efforts to avert escalating the tensions in the country.
He said before political, popular, social, and sports delegations: “Officials should assume their responsibilities in order to avert dangers against Lebanon.”“This requires them to avoid tense rhetoric that fuels sectarianism, which is becoming a burden on our safety and country,” he remarked.Salam's efforts to form a new government are ongoing. He is seeking the formation of a cabinet of national interests that can stage the parliamentary elections.
The March 14 camp has meanwhile been demanding the formation of a neutral government, while its rival March 8 camp has been calling for the establishment of a political government.

Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel says he prefers proportional electoral law
Now Lebanon/ Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said that he prefers the adoption of the election law based on proportional voting, the National News Agency reported.
“We prefer the adoption of the modern law based on proportional voting which would ensure [fair] representation of all national components,” Charbel said on Saturday evening during the inauguration of the Baabda municipality building. Charbel stressed the importance of holding the parliamentary elections which he described as “a democratic national duty that would anchor the confidence of the international community in Lebanon, especially in respect to rotation of power.” In recent months, Lebanon has been gripped by a crisis centered around the seeking of a new electoral law that will lay the groundwork for this year’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
In mid-April, the government officially changed the election date to June 16 by way of a decree, and parliament approved a law extending all election-law-related deadlines to May 19 after an electoral law deadlock was reached. The minister reiterated that a committee was set up to prepare a draft law on the expanded administrative decentralization which will give local authorities broad powers.

Kataeb MP calls for vote on electoral law
Now Lebanon/Lebanon’s Kataeb bloc MP Sami Gemayel said that an electoral law approved by a majority in parliament should be adopted for the upcoming parliamentary elections. “We must go to the parliament’s general body and put the laws to a vote and the law approved by the majority should be adopted,” Gemayel said in an interview with An-Nahar newspaper published on Sunday.
He continued: “If we try to reach a consensus again, the elections will not take place…therefore, we cannot be late any longer. We must go to parliament and vote.”
In recent months, Lebanon has been gripped by a crisis centered around the seeking of a new electoral law that will lay the groundwork for this year’s upcoming parliamentary elections.
In mid-April, the government officially changed the election date to June 16 by way of a decree, and parliament approved a law extending all election-law-related deadlines to May 19 after an electoral law deadlock was reached.Elsewhere, Gemayel demanded the deployment of UNIFIL troops along the borders with Syria.
“Everyone welcomes the role played by UNIFIL and Hezbollah welcomes the UN resolution 1701 which entitles the Lebanese state and the international interim forces the right to control the borders between Lebanon and Syria because the matter involves arms smuggling,” he explained. The Lebanese government has insisted on maintaining a neutral stance regarding events in Syria, despite its disassociation policy being cast into doubt after reports emerged of fuel and arms being smuggled into Syria, in addition to mounting accusations against Hezbollah of providing military support to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and fighting against rebels in towns along the Syrian-Lebanese border

Beirut bans award-winning Lebanese film shot in Israel
Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri said Saturday the Lebanese authorities have banned his award-winning film "The Attack" from cinemas in his home country because it was partly shot in Tel Aviv using Israeli actors.
"I regret to inform you that the Interior Minister of Lebanon, Minister [Marwan] Charbel, has decided to punish us and the film by banning it... claiming that the reason for the rejection is that I, Ziad Doueiri, had spent time in Israel filming," the director said in a statement on his Facebook page.
"To set things straight, I did shoot part of the film in Tel Aviv because this is where part of the story takes place. I used Israeli actors because also these were the artistic choices that I have made. And I have no regret and no apologies whatsoever." Charbel told AFP the interior ministry had granted Doueiri a permit to film the movie but revoked it after receiving a letter of protest from the Israel Boycott Office of the Cairo-based Arab League.
"We had no problem with the movie but when we received the protest letter... we could not oppose" the request, he said.
The film, which at the weekend received three awards at the COLCOA french film festival in Hollywood -- the audience award, the "Coming Soon" award and a special jury prize -- is due for release in May in France and in June in the United States.
It was adapted from a novel by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra and portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of an Israeli doctor who discovers that his wife carried out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
Doueiri dismissed the ban as "foolish and unfair", and noted that several Palestinian films shot in Israel with Israeli actors "and even with Israeli financing.. were allowed to screen in Lebanon."
"Why them and not this film? Are the Lebanese supposed to carry the Palestinian flag higher than the Palestinians themselves?" Doueiri asked.
He added that banning the film portrays Lebanon "in a negative light and tells us, filmmakers, that if we think outside the box, we'll be considered pariahs and outlaws."
The interior minister also sounded confused by the Israeli boycott office's decision, saying: "Although they had told me the film is pro-Palestinian."
Doueiri, who also won awards for his film "West Beirut", also criticized the interior ministry for having refused to allow his latest production to be included in a list of Lebanese films submitted to the Oscars.
Censorship is enforced in Lebanon by the interior ministry if an artist's work is considered to incite confessional dissent, attacks morals or the authority of the state or reflects Israeli propaganda.
Filmmakers in Lebanon must also submit their scripts to the authorities for approval.

Berri Seeks to Bridge Differences as Talks with Jumblat Focus on Division of Districts
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat have discussed the division of districts in a hybrid electoral law to avoid a clash in parliament at a session scheduled to be held on May 15, reports said Saturday. Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, told As Safir daily that the meeting that was held in Ain el-Tineh “focused on ideas” linked to the hybrid proposal that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems. He did not provide further details. Following the talks held on Friday, Jumblat said he will issue a stance over one of the proposals “within 24 hours.”
According to al-Joumhouria, their talks focused on the division of districts in Shouf, Aley and Baabda, over which Jumblat had expressed reservations in the past.
Abu Faour reiterated that the PSP's main concern is to hold the elections on time and preserve the constitution. His remarks came as An Nahar newspaper said that Berri is exerting strong efforts to bridge the differences between the rival parliamentary blocs ahead of the May 15 session. The speaker has warned that the failure to reach consensus on a new vote law would force him to put the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal on the session's agenda for being the only plan that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees. The proposal, which calls for each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, was approved by the committees despite the rejection of al-Mustaqbal bloc, Jumblat's National Struggle Front and the March 14 alliance's independent MPs.The other alternative would be the 1960 law which was used in the 2009 elections. But most parties have criticized it for not ensuring a proper representation for all the Lebanese and mainly Christians.
It considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.

Fire Breaks out at Plastic Factory in Sidon
Naharnet/A fire broke out on Sunday at a plastic factory in the southern city of Sidon, reported the National News Agency. It said that the factory is located in the city's vegetable market.
Civil defense teams are working on extinguishing the blaze, the causes of which are not yet known. No injuries have so far been reported in the incident, while MTV said that heavy smoke has since enveloped the area.

Syria Rejects U.S., UK Claims on Chemical Arms
Naharnet /Syria dismissed as a "barefaced lie" on Saturday American and British claims it may have used chemical arms, as staunch ally Russia warned against using such fears to launch a military intervention in the strife-torn country. "First of all, I want to confirm that statements by the U.S. secretary of state and British government are inconsistent with reality and a barefaced lie," Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said in an interview published on the Kremlin-funded Russia Today's website.
"I want to stress one more time that Syria would never use it -- not only because of its adherence to the international law and rules of leading war, but because of humanitarian and moral issues," Zohbi said.
U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon has called on Syria to approve a U.N. mission of inspectors to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons in the spiraling conflict that erupted in March 2011.
But Zohbi told RT Damascus could not trust U.N. inspectors from Britain and the United States.
"We do not trust the American and British experts from a political point of view," Zobhi said.
"We also do not trust their qualifications. Their aim is to juggle with facts."
But he said Syria would accept Russian inspectors.
"We won't mind if Russians would be among the experts; quite the contrary, we only welcome this idea. We are quite sure in their high qualification and ability to clearly see into such matters," he was quoted as saying.
Along with China, Russia has blocked several U.N. Security Council draft resolutions threatening sanctions against President Bashar Assad's regime.
U.S. President Barack Obama warned Syria on Friday that using chemical weapons would be a "game changer," after the U.S., Israel and Britain cited signs that Assad's regime attacked with the deadly agent sarin.
But Obama said Washington must act prudently, and establish exactly if, how and when such arms may have been used, promising a "vigorous" U.S. and international probe into the latest reports.
"We have to act prudently. We have to make assessments deliberately," he cautioned.
Russia warned against using these reports for a military intervention in Syria.
"We must check the information immediately and in conformity with international criteria, and not use it to achieve other objectives. It must not be a pretext for an intervention in Syria," deputy foreign minister and Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov said during a visit to Beirut on Saturday.
"We have the past experience of another violent intervention in Iraqi affairs under the pretext of the presence of nuclear weapons, and it turned out in the end that there was nothing," he added.
The specter of the invasion of Iraq and subsequent conflict, which killed tens of thousands of Iraqis, looms large.
The Syrian opposition has stepped up pressure by urging the U.N. Security Council to take immediate steps, possibly even by imposing a no-fly zone on Syria.
And British Prime Minister David Cameron said the growing evidence that Assad had turned chemical agents on his own people was "extremely serious".
The fighting in Syria, which the U.N. says has killed more than 70,000 people so far, showed no signs of abating on Saturday.
At least 10 people were killed in shelling on the Syrian town of Douma, northeast of the capital Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Nearby, in Moadamiyet al-Sham, the group reported air raids and tank fire, as well as shelling of the Barzeh district of the capital, which has been under fire for three straight days.
Elsewhere, troops carried out air raids against parts of Damascus and Aleppo province and strikes were also reported in western Latakia and southern Daraa.
On Friday, at least 127 people were killed in violence throughout the country, according to a toll from the Observatory.
Analysts said Syria's neighbors face a growing risk of the conflict spilling across their region as Assad turns to ever more desperate acts to halt rebels.
They said Lebanon and Jordan will be the most vulnerable if the conflict spreads, while Iraq will also be affected along with Israel and Turkey.
"It is a very vulnerable region and there is a risk of escalation," said Anthony Skinner of British risk consultancy Maplecroft.
Indeed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki alluded to Syria on Saturday, saying sectarian strife growing in his own country "came back to Iraq because it began in another place in this region."
"Sectarianism is evil, and the wind of sectarianism does not need a licence to cross from a country to another, because if it begins in a place, it will move to another place," he said.
SourceAgence France Presse.

Three Hurt in Shooting as New Italy Government Sworn in
Naharnet /An apparently disturbed businessman opened fire on policemen outside Italian government headquarters in Rome on Sunday just as the country's new coalition cabinet was being sworn in.
Two policemen were wounded, as well as a passerby, in the shooting which occurred about a kilometer away from the presidential palace where Prime Minister Enrico Letta and his ministers were taking the oath of office.
Witnesses said a man in a suit and tie opened fire on the policemen at close range outside the headquarters, off Rome's main shopping street which was packed with tourists at the time.
"This is the act of a mad, psychologically disturbed man," Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno told journalists, adding that the passerby and policemen did not appear to be seriously hurt.
The attacker, named by Italian media as businessman Luigi Preiti, 49, was tackled to the ground by by police as witnesses fled the scene.
The shooting cast a shadow over the swearing in of a government meant to bring fresh hope to a country mired in recession after two months of bitter post-election deadlock watched closely by European partners.
Letta and his 21 ministers took the oath at a ceremony led by President Giorgio Napolitano, who appointed him after the center-left won February elections but without the majority needed to govern.
The 46-year-old, one of the European Union's youngest prime ministers, is expected to unveil his program in a parliamentary session on Monday, before the government is put to a confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday.
The deadlock had thwarted efforts to end the worst recession in Italy in 20 years, and Letta has said he wants to move quickly to tackle unemployment -- currently 11.6 percent -- and boost growth.
The leftist leader also wants to move away from the austerity imposed by his technocrat predecessor Mario Monti to protect Italy from the eurozone debt crisis -- a promise which will be followed closely by investors concerned about Italy's two trillion euro debt mountain.
Italy's debt will rise to 130.4 percent of gross domestic product this year, according to an official forecast.
Unveiling his new cabinet Saturday, Letta said he was proud to have included younger ministers -- the average age is 53 -- and more women to help renew a tired political scene and rebuild confidence in the discredited political class. Letta is "the doctor for a sick Italy," Eugenio Scalfari said in La Repubblica, adding that the premier had kept his promise for a cabinet of "expertise, freshness, non divisive names".
Commentators said the exclusion of any big political names was a bid to avoid infighting within the coalition and acknowledge a growing call from the electorate for change.
Letta's deputy is Angelino Alfano, protege of former premier Silvio Berlusconi and secretary of the center-right People of Freedom party (PDL).
While the appointment appeared to be aimed at appeasing the right, it angered critics of the scandal-tainted billionaire tycoon, who they claim will have a grasp on the reins of power.
Berlusconi -- currently on trial for paying for sex with a 17-year-old prostitute -- has seen his popularity ratings rise, and fought to have his right-hand man in pole position. Alfano will also become interior minister.
Fabrizio Saccomanni, a director at Italy's central bank, is finance and economy minister, while Emma Bonino, a former European Commissioner, is foreign minister.
Clinching cross-party unity had proved tricky, with Letta's Democratic Party (PD) loath to work with its hated rival Berlusconi.
"It's a return to political reality. Everyone had to give way on something. There was no turning back to how things were before," said La Stampa political columnist Massimo Franco.
The only alternative to a deal would have been fresh elections, which neither side would necessarily have won with the majority needed to govern -- although recent opinion polls show that Berlusconi might have emerged victorious. The new government is bound to bring some relief to anxious international observers, after the warning from ratings agency Moody's Friday of an "elevated risk" that the political stalemate would harm investor confidence.
Letta has promised to act fast on key reforms -- such as tackling the complicated electoral law which created the deadlock in the first place -- but the diverse make-up of the government and internal divisions within the PD may make his job more difficult. Political analysts have warned that the coalition team may have a limited life of one-to-two years before bickering parties or rebel politicians bring it down and fresh elections are held.
SourceAgence France Presse.

Iraq Suspends TV Channels after Deadly Unrest
Naharnet /Iraq has suspended the licenses of 10 satellite TV channels for promoting "sectarianism", the country's media regulator said on Sunday, after five days of violence killed more than 215 people.
The bloody unrest, which began on Tuesday with deadly clashes between security forces and Sunni Arab anti-government protesters in north Iraq, has raised fears of a return to all-out sectarian conflict that plagued the country in the past and killed tens of thousands.
A protest leader and a provincial official, meanwhile, said the names of three people who allegedly killed five Iraqi soldiers were given to police, but they have not been handed over as demanded by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the Sahwa anti-Al-Qaida militia.
"We took a decision to suspend the license of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism," Mujahid Abu al-Hail, a top official in the Communications and Media Commission, told AFP.
"It means stopping their work in Iraq and their activities, so they cannot cover events in Iraq or move around," Hail said.
The suspensions include Al-Jazeera, the main broadcaster in the Arab world, and Sharqiya, a leading channel in Iraq.
Maliki said on Saturday that sectarian strife "came back to Iraq, because it began in another place in this region," in an apparent reference to Syria.
The civil war in neighboring Syria pitting mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against the regime of President Bashar Assad, a member of the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam, has killed more than 70,000 people.
Maliki called in a statement for anti-government protesters to "expel the criminals who targeted Iraqi army and police forces," after five soldiers were killed near a protest site close to Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
And Iraqiya state television quoted Sahwa chief Sheikh Wissam al-Hardan as saying that if those who have killed soldiers are not handed over, "the Sahwa will take the requested procedures and do what it did in 2006."
Sahwa militiamen fought pitched battles against Sunni militants from 2006, helping to turn the tide of the Iraq war.
Hardan set a 24-hour deadline for the demand to be met, but on Sunday those who killed the five soldiers had still not been turned in.
"We do not work for the government, and we are not army or police from the government," said Abdulrazzaq al-Shammari, one of the leaders of the protest near Ramadi.
"They are outside of the site of the protest, and we helped by giving their names," Shammari said.
"The criminals were not handed over until now, but the police were given the names of three people who were said to be the ones who killed the soldiers," said Mohammed Fathi, a media adviser to the provincial council in Anbar province where the soldiers were killed.
"Those three are members of Al-Qaida, and they are wanted," he said.
The wave of violence began on Tuesday when security forces moved against Sunni anti-government protesters near the northern Sunni Arab town of Hawijah, sparking clashes that killed 53 people.
Subsequent unrest, much of it apparently linked to the Hawijah clashes, killed dozens more and brought the death toll to more than 215.
The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of Shiite-majority Iraq more than four months ago.
The Sunni protesters have called for Maliki's resignation and railed against authorities for allegedly targeting their community with wrongful detentions and accusations of involvement in terrorism.
SourceAgence France Presse.