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Indictment Issued against Suspect Charged with Killing Army Officer

Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawwan issued an indictment on Thursday against Hassan Karaki, who is accused of killing officer Abbas Jomaa in Beirut's southern suburbs in September.

Karaki, who is also known as Antar, opened fire at an army patrol pursuing him in al-Ghobairi on September 21, severely injuring Jomaa and wounding several others.

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Opposition MPs Meet with Berri amid Lack of Progress on Electoral Committee Meeting

A delegation of March 14 opposition lawmakers met with Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday amid a sign of lack of progress on the activation of the meetings of a parliamentary subcommittee tasked with drafting an electoral law.

MP Marwan Hamadah, who was part of the four-member delegation, announced following the talks with Berri in Ain el-Tineh that further discussions were required on the resumption of the meetings.

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Telecom Employee Charged with Collaborating with Israel Released on Bail

An employee for a mobile phone service company was released on bail on Thursday after he was imprisoned on charges of collaborating with Israel, reported the National News Agency.

It said that Charbel Qazzi was released from jail after paying L.L.10 million in bail.

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Roumieh Prison Guards Thwart Fatah al-Islam Escape Attempt

Guards thwarted an attempt by around 20 Fatah al-Islam prisoners to escape from Roumieh prison, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

NNA said the inmates had cut iron bars at the prison's library and were seeking to dig a hole in the wall of the workshop that had been burned in previous riots when the plot was uncovered on Thursday night.

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Army Says Qahwaji Only Credible Source to Give Statements to Media

The army urged on Thursday media outlets not to publish any information about the military during the delicate situation that Lebanon and the region are passing through, unless it was issued by the army command or army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji.

According to a communique issued by the Army Command it pointed out that there is no high-ranking military source that has the right to issue statements about the army other than its leader or what the Army Command discloses.

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First Power-Generating Vessel to Arrive in April after Long Delay

Lebanon met the required costs to Turkish power company Karadeniz after a long delay, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday, pointing out that the first power-generating vessel is expected to arrive in April.

According to the daily, the Finance Ministry transferred the money to Electricite du Liban on November 7, which in turn transferred the cost of acquiring the two ships to the Turkish company on Wednesday after procedures with the Central Bank ended.

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3 People Burn to Death in Car Crash on Jbeil Highway

Three charred bodies were retrieved from a vehicle heading to northern Lebanon after it overturned and burst into flames on the Jbeil-Barbara highway, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The agency said the Mercedes overturned multiple times and then caught fire.

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Interpol Rejects Interfering in Syrian Arrest Warrants against Lebanese Officials, FSA Member

The Interpol will not deal with the Syrian arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, al-Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr and Syrian opposition member Louay al-Meqdad in line with its constitution and rules, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to a memo sent by the Interpol to its offices in the Arab countries, the organization decided not to keep the arrest warrants in its database and will not cooperate with them based on its regulations as “it is strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of political, military, religious or racial character.”

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Report: Suleiman Advises Charbel to Prepare for Polls Regardless of Vacancies

President Michel Suleiman informed Interior Minister Marwan Charbel that he should continue his preparations for the 2013 parliamentary elections irrespective of vacancies in several posts, An Nahar daily reported on Thursday.

The newspaper quoted Charbel as telling a cabinet session held at Baabda palace on Wednesday that the government was yet to appoint governors and directors of several departments in the interior ministry - posts necessary to prepare for the polls.

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Survey: Social Media Increasingly Popular in Lebanon

Social media like Facebook and Twitter have become important elements in political and social discourse in Lebanon with 34 percent of Lebanese saying they use social networking sites to share their views, a survey showed Thursday.

Among the social network participants in Lebanon, 68 percent said they shared views on politics, 81 percent on community issues and 8 percent on religion, a 21-nation survey made by the Pew Research Center found.

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