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Rockets Hit Bekaa Towns as Tension Rises after Yabrud Fall

Three rockets landed on Monday on residential areas of the eastern town of al-Labweh from the hills overlooking the village of Arsal, the state-run National News Agency reported.

LBCI TV said one person was injured in the rocket attack, which was followed by an assault by another three rockets on the outskirts of the town of Arsal.

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Jumblat: Life Has Burdened the People to Suffer Sophistic Policy Statement Debates

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Monday the lengthy debates and discussions that preceded the drafting of the government policy statement and their impact on the daily lives of the people.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “Life has burdened the Lebanese people to suffer the ministerial sophistic debates linked to the policy statement.”

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Suleiman Urges Security Forces to Remain on High Alert to Thwart Attempts to Create Strife

President Michel Suleiman hailed on Monday the “great efforts” exerted by the army and security forces in obstructing the criminal plans of extremists against Lebanon.

He urged “the military and security forces to remain on high alert to thwart attempts to create strife.”

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Salam Urges Military to Control Situation in Eastern Border Areas

Prime Minister Tammam Salam urged the Army Command on Monday to take measures to control the situation in border regions in the eastern Bekaa Valley after gunmen fled into Lebanon following the fall of the Syrian town of Yabrud.

A statement issued by his office after a meeting between Salam and Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji at the Grand Serail, said the PM instructed the military commander “to take all the necessary measures to control the situation in Bekaa's border areas and do what it takes to protect civilians, and consolidate stability in Arsal, al-Labweh and nearby towns.”

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Judge Bseibes in Bekaa Sentences Kidnap Gang for Life

The criminal court in northern Bekaa led by Judge Jean Bseibes, sentenced Maher Tleis and three other Syrians for life for their involvement in different kidnappings in the area, the State-run National News Agency said on Monday.

Tleis and the three Syrians, al-Jasem, Ali al-Ali and Radwan al-Tayeh, were sentenced for life hard labor.

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Army Blows up Booby-Trapped Vehicle on Fakha-Ras Baalbek Road

The Lebanese army blew up on Monday a booby-trapped vehicle found on the Fakha-Ras Baalbek road in eastern Lebanon, after firing an RPG-7 rocket on it, the military and the state-run National News Agency reported.

The army said in a communique that it blew up the car, which contained 170 kilograms of explosives, after the military expert inspected it and found difficulty in defusing it.

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Rising Fears of More Retaliation in Lebanon after Fall of Yabrud

Fears rose in Lebanon on Monday that gunmen, who have fled into Lebanon after Syrian government troops and Hizbullah fighters captured Yabrud, a strategic town near the frontier, would increase retaliatory attacks against the supporters of the Shiite party.

The first alleged retaliation came on Sunday when a suicide bomber driving a Grand Cherokee left several casualties in the town of Nabi Othman, about 30 kilometers north of Baalbek.

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Geagea Ready for 'Serious Dialogue' with Hizbullah, Says Polls 'Mother of All Battles'

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has expressed readiness to engage in a “serious dialogue” with its arch foe Hizbullah and described the upcoming presidential elections as the “mother of all battles.”

“There is no tension with Hizbullah. Our differences with it are not personal or sectarian,” Geagea told al-Akhbar newspaper in an interview published on Monday.

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4 Dead, Several Hurt in Suicide Car Blast in al-Nabi Othman

A suicide car bomb attack killed four people and wounded several others late Sunday in the Bekaa town of al-Nabi Othman, state-run National News Agency reported.

“Hizbullah members knew he was about to carry out the attack, and tried to stop the vehicle. That was when the attacker detonated the vehicle," a Lebanese security source told Agence France Presse.

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Rifi Slams Jubilation over Yabrud, Says to Seek Hizbullah Syria Exit in State Institutes

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on Sunday announced that his priority in the new cabinet will be seeking the withdrawal of Hizbullah from Syria, describing the fall of the Syrian rebel bastion of Yabrud as an “illusionary” victory and slamming the celebrations of Hizbullah's supporters in several Lebanese areas.

“In the wake of the successive events in Syria, the last of which was what happened in the town of Yabrud and the cross-border exodus into Arsal, we reiterate our warning against this rejected involvement in Syrian affairs, which exposes Lebanon to a definite danger,” Rifi said in a communique.

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