Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Monday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Akhbar
Electricity plan before Parliament Monday

Two significant meetings will take place at Parliament Monday: one of the Finance and Budget Committee and the other of the joint committees to continue the debate over the electricity plan.
If the joint committee fails to finalize the electricity bill Monday, Speaker Nabih Berri will refer the issue to Cabinet where it will be discussed during Thursday’s meeting.

In response to recent [controversial] remarks made by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Paris, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, expressed respect for Rai’s views, stressing that “Muslims throughout the Islamic eras, and despite the rifts that occured, have safeguarded the other [Christians], as evidenced by the continuing presence of Christians in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.”

Al-Liwaa
Hezbollah plans massive celebrations for Rai from Baalbek to Hermel

Despite the significance of President Michel Sleiman’s visit to New York given that Lebanon holds the rotating presidency at the U.N. Security Council throughout September, pressing local issues nearly overshadowed this key event. Lebanon will be at the forefront of world decision-makers who plan to discuss U.N. membership for a Palestinian state as well as the Arab Spring and developments in Syria.
Meanwhile, joint parliamentary committees will resume discussions Monday on the electricity bill amid insistence by the March 14 coalition on the introduction of amendments dealing with funds, a regulatory body and a board of directors.

Cabinet will also hold a meeting Monday afternoon under Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail to discuss 41 items on its agenda, most notably the issue of Lebanon’s offshore economic zone, which had been postponed.
Mikati is also scheduled to discuss the transport plan with head of the Drivers’ Union during a Monday morning meeting.

President Michel Sleiman will head to New York at midday Monday on a three-day official visit to address world leaders at the United Nations.
Despite all these regional and international concerns, a tour of Baalbek and Hermel by Patriarch Rai over the weekend remained in the spotlight as Hezbollah planned massive popular celebrations in a sign of support for Rai’s [controversial] statements made during a visit to Paris which were welcomed by Hezbollah and its allies but denounced by Christians in the March 14 coalition. However, “some” clarifications by Rai have calmed March 14 down.

Ad-Diyar
Rai from Baalbek upholds remarks made in Paris, draws vehement Sunni response

Contrary to rumors that Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai intended to clarify his remarks before withdrawing his position, Rai – during his trip to Baalbek – upheld his statements [on Syria and Hezbollah’s weapons], drawing strong Sunni criticism.
During his visit, Rai called for dialogue among the Lebanese and urged the international community to work to help implement international resolutions, with Israel’s full pullout from every inch of Lebanese territory be pivotal.
Rai also expressed fears that bloody events in some Arab countries would likely turn into civil wars and voiced concerns that the demands for reforms could end up in more extremist regimes.
Rai was concerned that the uprisings in the Arab world could lead to sectarian wars and achieve the new plan of a new Middle East and fragment the Arab world.

Future Movement MP Nuhad Mashnouq rejected Rai’s remarks and his assumptions.
Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, in a speech before heading to Saudi Arabia, also said Rai has “particular concerns within the Christian sect that led him to take this position.” He expressed respect for this position.
However, the harshest criticism came from head of the Islamic Liberation Party, Ahmad Qasqas, who called on Patriarch Rai to make positions based on priorities of major issues.

Ad-Diyar has learned that the Vatican asked the papal ambassador to Beirut to clarify Rai’s statements, a sign that the patriarch’s concerns had nothing to do with the Vatican.

As-Safir
Rai from Baalbek upholds his positions … and his visit celebrated by Hezbollah

This week’s agenda is a busy one with politically and diplomatically themed events.
The weekend carried the hallmarks of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, who visited the Baalbek-Hermel region where he reaffirmed the foundations of his positions [on Syria and Hezbollah arms] amid a massive Hezbollah rally behind him, represented by a warm welcome from the various popular and political sides in the Bekaa.

An-Nahar
Crucial battle over electricity Monday
STL funding linked to “false witnesses”

Despite devoting a large part of preparations for Lebanon’s official visit to the United Nations, local issues remained at the forefront starting with the electricity plan that will be discussed by the joint parliamentary committees Monday.
The meeting is expected to be crucial, given reports that surfaced about the possibility that Speaker Nabih Berri will put the plan to a vote if no agreement is reached among majority and opposition lawmakers.
Meanwhile, well-informed sources made no secret that funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was related to Hezbollah’s positions on the tribunal.
The sources expressed their belief that the issue of funding the STL was linked to the issue of “false witnesses.”