Economists in Lebanon believe that the country's economy remained stable despite increasing budget deficit and rising public debts, reported the London- based Al Hayat. Experts also warned against the negative consequences of the world financial crisis on Lebanon next year. Ali Yashuei, an economist, said that the capital inflows to Lebanon were positive last year, and contributed to an increase of non-resident deposits in the local banking system to a total of about $9 billion.
He noted that nominal growth had always hidden inflation and high prices, and warned that any rise in commodity prices in the world would have direct effects on Lebanon. Mr Yashuei believed that Lebanon needed investments in the productive sectors in order to increase the size of the economy and create new jobs. As far as the public debts are concerned, the Lebanese government, he added, is highly concerned about the cost of servicing them, which may exceed $46 billion.
The Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni announced the death of several terrorists in the country, Al Rayad newspaper reported. On the sidelines of a meeting of the National Assembly yesterday, Mr Zerhouni said that the security forces killed a number of terrorists, but did not reveal any information about the exact number of those who were killed. Their names were kept anonymous.
It had been circulated by unofficial sources that about 631 insurgents had been killed since August 2006, including foreign nationals from Libya, Tunisia, Mali and Nigeria, Al Rayad newspaper noted. Mr Zerhouni added that the terrorists killed had been engaged in violence for nearly 16 years and were eliminated in Boumerdes, Ain Defla, and Maghniya. The Algerian security neutralised 185 insurgents during the current year, including 10 warlords and 17 people who had been masterminds of attacks, Al Rayad said.
Mahmoud al Mashhadani's resignation from the presidency of the Iraqi Parliament led to the disintegration of the Iraqi Accord Front, the largest Sunni Arab political coalition, reported Al Sharq Alawsat. In a press conference Mr al Mashhadani said that "the Islamic Party was plotting against me from the very beginning". The Iraqi Islamic Party was accused of conspiring for the dismissal of the parliament speaker. "They used to say that they brought me in and appointed me as speaker of the parliament and then I turned against them," he added.
"I felt I could not go on like this. When I suggested a parliamentary reform and got no response, at that time I felt the urge to leave," he explained. Mr al Mashhadani, a member of the National Dialogue Council, added that "things evolved and the Accord Front took the opportunity to attack me personally because I stood against sectarianism". The Accord Front was comprised of 39 deputies representing the Iraqi Islamic Party.
Arab diplomatic sources said that the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, would propose a mediation between Cairo and Damascus during a visit to Tripoli on Wednesday by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, reported the Qatari daily al Raya. Cairo and Damascus exchanged in public criticism when Egypt protested formally over a rally staged in front of its embassy in the Syrian capital as a reaction to the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. Damascus voiced surprise and concern, saying that the Egyptian media campaign was hostile, noted the newspaper.
Egyptian-Syrian relations have been tense since the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2006 when Egypt at that time stood by the majority group in Lebanon while Syria sided with Hizbollah. The tension intensified last month after Syria criticised Egypt in an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers held in Cairo on November 26th. The Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said during the meeting that the Egyptian mediator in the dialogue between Fatah and Hamas should stand at a distance from each party, pointing to Egypt's support for Fatah. * Compiled by Mideastdigest.com