Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese and Pan-Arab newspapers Sunday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Ad-Diyar

Druze religious endowments and the religious council

Tripoli gathering poses challenge for Mikati

Everyone in Lebanon is waiting to see what will happen in Syria, and the developments will be reflected in one way or another internally. Lebanon will see more of the Syrian crisis next week, as March 14 attacks Prime Minister Najib Mikati for his position on Syria.

Attention is also being turned to next Sunday, Nov. 27, when an independence rally is scheduled at the Rashid Karami Exhibition Center, near the home of Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Former MP Mustapha Allouch, coordinator for the Future Movement in the North, said the festival is aimed at blaming Mikati for his support of the Syrian regime.

Last Friday, Salifist demonstrators could be seen tearing down pictures of Mikati for the first time and chanting slogans against him for his support of the Syrian government.

Sources close to Mikati said the prime minister would not respond to this campaign against him.

Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman said Lebanon would meet its obligations to finance the international tribunal not because of possible sanctions but because Lebanon has obligations toward the international community it needs to respect.

Hezbollah MP Nawwaf Musawi warned that those banking on the American project succeeding in the region, which he said would never succeed, would be the most affected by the events unfolding in the region.

It is important to note that Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has organized a conference December 9 at the Phoenicia Hotel to discuss and explain the election law.

Political sources have confirmed that most of March 14, backed by PSP leader Walid Jumblatt, does not back the proportional representation law. Hezbollah said it wanted a united law for all the Lebanese. Jumblatt reiterated that he would not agree to proportional representation no matter what concessions he was given.

An-Nahar

Mikati hints at “decision time” over funding [for STL]

Crowds to flock at Mukhtara to hold ceremony for birthday of [Kamal] Jumblatt

Developments at the ministerial and political levels appear to be coalescing on two important topics: Lebanon’s funding toward the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the position that needs to be taken with regard to the crisis in Syria.

Visitors to Prime Minister Najib Mikati quoted him as saying that the course of the issue of funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has reached its end and that it was “the hour of truth.”

They also quoted him as saying that “the time that we sought to gain has ended and we now have to take a decision.”

Mikati referred to the correspondence with the United Nations that started at the end of September, reminding Lebanon of the need to fund its share to the court.

“We had at the time resorted to referring this correspondence to the finance and justice ministries to take the appropriate decisions to translate Lebanon’s international commitments.”

Mikati was clear when referring to the correspondence with the U.N. secretary-general that the final deadline for Lebanon to fund its share toward the court was Dec. 15, otherwise the secretary general would have to raise the issue at the Security Council.

An-Nahar has learned that the Progressive Social Party will hold a ceremony in remembrance of the birthday of its founder, Kamal Jumblatt, on Dec. 4, two days prior his actual date of birth – Dec. 6. The head of the party, MP Walid Jumblatt, will attend as well as all the members of the former Democratic Gathering parliamentary block that he led. Representatives from various parliamentary blocks will also be in attendance.

Al-Mustaqbal

Mikati mediates the release of two close to him that burned his picture in Tripoli

The issue of funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in front of Cabinet Nov. 30

The dramatic events at the Arab level remain at the foreground. The deadline for Syria to accept the protocol set by the Arab League had ended. In Libya, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi was apprehended near the borders with Niger. As for Lebanon, political activity was modest. At Baabda Palace, President Michel Sleiman held a dinner in honor of Brazilian Vice President Michel Tamer while in Badaro Interior Minister Marwan Charbel inaugurated a wiretapping control room.

Amid this, the effects of the burning of the picture of Prime Minister Najib Mikati during protests in solidarity with the Syrian people’s intifada in Tripoli Friday lingered. What came as a surprise was that two people accused of burning Mikati’s picture were released after reported intervention by Mikati. The two were later found out to be members of an association linked to Mikati.

In a development related to the funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, there are reports that the Cabinet will bring this up during a session on Nov. 30, which will fall on a Wednesday.

Former MP Mustapha Allouch, a Future Movement official, said “[former] Prime Minister Saad Hariri will make a statement during an independence ceremony by the party organized in Tripoli on the [Nov.] 27.” Allouch said the events from now until next Sunday would decide whether Hariri would make his address via television screens or in person.

Al-Hayat

Sources say France will not be budged by Syria pressure in Lebanon

Paris: Failure to fund STL will lead to troubling situation

A source in France close to Paris said the French government and international community expect Lebanon to fund its share to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for 2011.

“The end of 2011 is has nearly passed with no payment yet from Lebanon and if Lebanon does not pay, a troubling situation will ensure and force the international community to take steps .... These will be at various levels, including the Security Council and European Union.”

The sources said that Lebanon is “bound by [United Nations Security Council] Resolution 1757 given that it is a Security Council resolution and international laws supersede national laws.”

The sources said President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati had expressed support on the issue of funding for the court “and they have a genuine desire that Lebanon respect its international obligations because they know the consequences of this matter that go beyond the issue of the Special Tribunal but on the trustworthiness of the Lebanese state.”

On the issue of Syria and Lebanon, the sources said: “If Syria is trying to frighten France, then this will not change its policy because it is adamant on its principles, which are based on respect for human rights and the rights of the Syrian people for freedom. France will not budge from its position, especially given that the majority of the Arab states, as revealed by the Arab League decision, shares [Paris’] opposition to the crackdown and killings committed by the Syrian regime on the people.”

The sources said France “is aware of what Syria might do in Lebanon because its history speaks for itself. However, France hopes that the situation in Lebanon will remain calm.”