An-Nahar (Lebanon): Israel Threatens to Stop Hezbollah Arms Flow – Israel has threatened to stop the flow of arms from Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah group, especially advanced anti-aircraft weapons that could shoot down Israeli aircraft, which violate Lebanese air space every day. Sources said the security cabinet has decided that Israel will no longer accept that advanced weapons and land-to-land missiles continue to enter Lebanon and decided to move against it.
Al-Hayat (London): 'No Deal With International Court', Bashir Says – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told Al-Hayat he rejected any settlement or deal with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, whose prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for the president on charges of war crimes in Darfur. Bashir reiterated that the Sudanese people and parliament had unanimously refused to hand him or any other Sudanese citizen to that court.
Ash-Sharq al-Awsat (London; Saudi Arabia): Bin Laden's Driver Seeks Mercy – The former driver of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Salem Hamdan, is expected to seek the mercy of the Pentagon jury from giving him a life prison term, after he was convicted of war crimes. Salem's eyes filled with tears on Wednesday when he heard the verdict from six officers in the first American trial hearing war crimes since World War Two.
Al-Seyassah (Kuwait): Pakistan Coalition Government Agrees to Impeach Musharraf – Pakistan has again been plunged into a political crisis after the coalition government decided to take measures to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, a U.S. ally in the "war on terrorism." The decision comes five months after high tension between the government, which was formed in March, and Musharraf, who has ruled the country since coming to power in a military coup in October 1999.
Al-Rayah (Qatar): Al-Jazeera: Airing Kuntar Celebrations Violation of Ethics Charter – The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel said yesterday that broadcasting the celebrations of the release of Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar from Israeli jails was a violation of the channel's ethics charter. It said in a statement that its editorial council concluded that this was a serious violation and will conduct a review to take the necessary action.