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Terror Detainee Miqati Says Constantly Communicated with Asir, Reveals Plot against Army

Ahmed Salim Miqati, a terror detainee, confessed during investigations that his group aimed at carrying out a wide-scale assault against the army, revealing that fugitive Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir is taking the Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh, near the southern city of Sidon, as his refuge.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Friday, Miqati surprised investigators with spilling out the roles of his accomplices.

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Berri Says Extension Fait Accompli, Sets Standards for New Electoral Law

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the law on the extension of parliament's term until June 2017 will come into force despite the rejection of several cabinet ministers to endorse it, and stressed that the new electoral law should adhere to the Taef Accord.

Several local dailies on Friday quoted Berri as telling his visitors that the extension of the legislature's tenure will become a fait accompli next week when the law is published in the Official Gazette.

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British Minister Slams 'Inhumane' Deportation of Lebanese Man with Down’s Syndrome

Britain's Business Secretary Vince Cable has described the proposed deportation of a Lebanese man with Down’s syndrome as “fundamentally inhumane.”

Wadih Chourey, 44, has lived in south-west London for the past 17 years after seeking refuge from abuse in his home country. But both his parents have since died and his brother Camil, 52, said he would be unable to care for himself in Lebanon.

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Sami Gemayel Gives Up Parliament Salary for Families of Army Martyrs

Kataeb party MP Sami Gemayel decided to give up his salary from the parliament to the families of army martyrs, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the daily Gemayel informed Parliament's Secretary-General Adnan Daher in an official memo that he “wants to give up indefinitely his salary starting of the first month of the legislature's new tenure to the fund of compensations for army martyrs.”

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Jumblat Meets Top Russian Official ahead of Talks with Lavrov

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks Thursday in Moscow with Aleksey Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian Duma.

The meeting was attended by Jumblat's son Taimur, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour and PSP official Halim Abu Fakhreddine.

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No Comment from Govt. on Extension as Salam Says Captives Case 'Difficult, Complicated'

The cabinet did not comment on the issue of the parliament's term extension in the statement issued after its weekly session on Thursday, as it admitted that the case of the servicemen held hostage by jihadist groups is “difficult and complicated.”

“As in every session, the prime minister (Tammam Salam) called for the election of a new president and he mentioned the issue of extending the parliament's term without discussing it in detail,” said Information Minister Ramzi Jreij after the meeting at the Grand Serail, in response to a reporter's question.

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STL Confirms Receiving Lebanon Share of 2014 Budget

The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon confirmed Thursday that it has received Lebanon's share of its 2014 budget from the Lebanese government.

“The full sum of € 29,347,003.50, 49% of the Tribunal's budget, was transferred to the Tribunal's bank account this morning,” the STL said in a statement.

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4 Lebanese Held in Akkar's al-Mhammara, 17 Syrians in Bekaa

The army on Thursday arrested four people during raids in the town of al-Mhammara in the northern Akkar district, which has recently witnessed deadly clashes between troops and Islamist gunmen.

“Khaled Mohammed al-Shamali, Mahmoud Hussein Moussa, Ahmed Faraj al-Shamali and Faraj Mohammed al-Shamali were arrested in al-Mhammara for taking part in recent armed attacks against army troops,” the Army Command said in a communique.

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17 Syrians Charged with Belonging to Terrorist Group

Seventeen Syrians were charged on Thursday with belonging to an armed terrorist group, reported the National News Agency.

It said that State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged them with belonging to a terrorist organization in order to carry out attacks in Lebanon.

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Ibrahim: Lebanon Will Be Victorious in Existential Threat against Terrorism

General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim stressed the importance of national unity in confronting the dangers facing Lebanon.

He said in an interview with the General Security magazine: “Lebanon will emerge victorious in its existential battle against organized terrorism.”

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