Amid reports that Hezbollah has conducted the largest mass military drill in its history in southern Lebanon, Berri warned against recent Israeli military activity south of the border. The Speaker told Assafir daily that such activity constitutes the beginning of a blatant Israeli interference in the presidential election and an attempt to impose "new data" at it has done at previous stages.

February 14 Could Hold Elections in Beit el-Dine
On the other hand, presidential candidate and key February 14 figure MP Butros Harb added to the political tension and alluded to his allies' intention to elect a president with the half-plus-one formula, somewhere outside parliament, "if the MPs were banned from arriving to the parliament or in case, God forbid, the MPs fail to arrive there for security reasons." Harb said that among the suggested locations is Beit el-Dine (a region in the Chouf region controlled by MP Walid Jumblatt).

It added that going into the names of the candidates still depends on the Maronite Patriarchy's position. Bkirki has been contacting senior Christian figures in the loyalty and the opposition blocs to lay the ground for an expanded gathering, perhaps next Friday, to generate a last-Christian-chance before moving the ball to the Berri-Hariri dialogue court.
Berri underlined his rejection to any president who would be elected with the half-plus-one MPs formula, the core of the problem between the loyalty bloc and the opposition that wants to see a president elected with the two-third majority in parliament. The Speaker warned that the endeavor to push the country into sedition and chaos would be faced with the determination to establish concord under any circumstances. "Those who believe that going towards sedition is a trip, is mistaken because the cost will be remarkably high," Berri said.

Global Alert Over Lebanon Crisis
Lebanon will witness seven days of anticipation as inside and outside diplomatic activity takes place, on top of which is the US-Franco summit expected Tuesday in Washington. Also on Tuesday, Saudi king Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz will head to the Vatican Tuesday to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the first such meeting ever between a Saudi king and a head of the Catholic Church. The meeting, according to media reports, will have Lebanon's presidential vote on its agenda. Another summit between the Saudi king and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is also set for the 10th of November, two days ahead of Lebanon's voting session. Lebanon is also included, according to reports, in the Sharm el-Sheikh summit. Internally, what matters in fact is the continuity of dialogue between rival groups to reach consensus. Meetings between Speaker Nabih Berri, who has not expressed pessimism yet, and the head of the Future Parliamentary bloc MP Saad Hariri, would resume upon Hariri's return to Lebanon within the next 48 hours, Assafir daily said.