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Nasrallah Lashes Out at Bitar, Says Probe 'Can't Continue This Way'

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday launched his fiercest attack to date on Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, calling for replacing him with a “transparent and honest judge.”

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Geagea: Hizbullah Trying to Deviate Attention from Real Cause of Crisis

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday charged that Hizbullah’s efforts are focused on “deviating attention from the real cause of the crisis” in the country.

Speaking at a meeting with a student delegation, Geagea blamed the country’s compounded crisis on the rule of Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement over the past 10 years.

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Hizbullah MP Says Has 'Complete Story' about Ammonium Nitrate Ship

Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, Hizbullah MP Hassan Ezzeddine, has said that “there is a complete story about the ammonium nitrate ship that entered the port of Beirut.”

“The story could be published at any moment in the media so that all people will get to know what happened,” Ezzeddine said.

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Court of Cassation Rejects Khalil, Zoaiter's Request for Bitar's Removal

The Civilian Court of Cassation on Monday dismissed a petition filed by ex-minister Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zoaiter for the removal of Judge Tarek Bitar, the lead investigative judge into the Beirut port blast.

The Court argued that it is not the right authority to look into the request seeing as Bitar is not one of its judges and that his jurisdiction does not make him affiliated with the public prosecution.

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Berri Says Govt. Should Conclude IMF Talks, Solve Power Crisis by December

Parliamant Speaker Nabih Berri has revealed that he has urged Prime Minister Najib Miqati to finalize talks with the International Monetary Fund and to tackle the power crisis.

“Miqati’s chance should not exceed a month and a half,” Berri said, in an interview, considering that “Parliament will be quasi-idle by the start of December, due to the holidays and to the nearness of the elections.”

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U.S. Under Secretary of State to Visit Lebanon Coming from Russia

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will arrive in Beirut within 48 hours as part of a tour involving Britain, Russia and Lebanon, media reports said.

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Jordan King Vows to Support Lebanon in Meeting with Miqati

Jordan's King Abdullah II received Prime Minister Najib Miqati in Amman Sunday, saying his country will stand by the small nation and its people during its worst-ever economic crisis.

The visit to Jordan by Miqati is his first to an Arab country since he formed his Cabinet last month. It comes after the premier's trips to France and Britain, as Miqati seeks their help.

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Huge Fire Extinguished at al-Zahrani Oil Facility

Firefighters extinguished a huge blaze that broke out in a gasoline tank at one of Lebanon's main oil facilities in the country's south Monday after it sent orange flames and a thick black column of smoke into the sky.

Energy Minister Walid Fayyad said the fire broke out when workers were transferring gasoline from one storage tank to another in the coastal town of Zahrani. He said nearly 250,000 liters of gasoline were burnt during the blaze, which lasted more than three hours. No one was reported hurt.

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Khalil Decries 'Very High Level of Politicization' in Port Blast Probe

Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide MP Aii Hassan Khalil on Sunday lamented what he called a “very high level of politicization” in Judge Tarek Bitar’s probe into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion.

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Abu Faour Says Expat Parliamentary Seats a 'Silly Idea'

MP Wael Abu Faour of the Democratic Gathering bloc on Sunday said “the election of six MPs representing Lebanese expats is a silly propaganda idea that was imposed by the Free Patriotic Movement.”

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