Pro-Syria vote agreed

LEBANON’S main parliamentary blocs have agreed to back the re-election of Nabih Berri, virtually guaranteeing the strong Syrian ally will secure the post of parliament speaker, political sources said yesterday.

The 128-member assembly look set to re-elect Berri when it holds its first meeting since the May 29-June 19 elections, despite international reservations over one of the main enforcers of Syria’s grip on Lebanon.