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Jumblat Says Political Extortion Should Stop

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat expressed fear that the political disputes between the cabinet members might occur at every crossroads, especially with the imminent discussions of the administrative appointments.

He told As Safir newspaper on Monday that his position on the electricity project was merely technical and administrative, and not political.

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Electricity Draft Law Referred to Parliament

The electricity drat law that was approved at cabinet last week has been referred to parliament on Monday, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

Speaker Nabih Berri consequently called the various joint committees to convene on Thursday in order to discuss the law.

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Al-Rahi: My Statements from France Were Taken Out of Context

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi asserted on Sunday that the statements he made in France “were taken out of context and therefore they were misinterpreted,” reported the daily An Nahar on Monday.

He announced upon his return to Lebanon from his visit to France that his talks with French officials focused on reform in the Arab world.

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Miqati Confirms Describing Hizbullah as 'Non-malignant' Tumor

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Sunday confirmed remarks attributed to him by a WikiLeaks document about describing Hizbullah as a “tumor,” but stressed that his words were taken out of context and that he had described the Shiite party as a “non-malignant tumor.”

“Everything published by WikiLeaks about me is true, but some remarks were taken out of context. I did describe Hizbullah as a ‘tumor,’ but I stressed that it is a ‘non-malignant tumor’,” Miqati said in an interview on Al-Jadeed television.

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U.S. Official Hints al-Rahi’s Statements Jeopardize his Visit to Washington

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi arrives in Beirut on Sunday at the end of an official visit to France, as his controversial positions on Syria weren’t positively received by French officials and were strongly criticized by the March 14-led opposition.

A high-ranking U.S. official expressed his astonishment and dissatisfaction with al-Rahi’s speech in France regarding the popular uprising in Syria against President Bashar Assad and Hizbulla’s arms.

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ISF Intelligence Pursue Suspect in Seven Estonians Kidnapping

Internal Security forces intelligence division pursued one of the suspects in the kidnapping of the seven Estonians, the National News Agency reported on Sunday.

An ISF patrol tracked down overnight one of the main abductors linked to the kidnapping of the seven Estonian cyclists who were captured at gunpoint on March 23 in Bekaa valley.

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Miqati Vows Commitment to STL, Says Cabinet 'Can’t be Selective'

Prime Minister Najib Miqati pledged on Sunday to renew commitment to all the international resolution during his upcoming visit to New York City to attend a U.N. Security Council session on the Middle East, stressing that the cabinet cannot be selective in implementing the resolutions.

“The Special Tribunal for Lebanon exists… We can’t implement only the resolutions that we favor and rule out the others,” Miqati told An Nahar newspaper.

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Libyan Rebels: Suspected Corpse of Imam Moussa Sadr Found

The corpse of missing Imam Moussa al-Sadr was found among a number of corpses in the Libyan town of Tarhuna, reported al-Hurra television.

The Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper had reported that 3,715 corpses were found in a freezer in Libya, one of them was that of Sadr.

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Army Thwarts Smuggling of Tasers to Syria

The Lebanese army thwarted on Saturday an attempt to smuggle tasers and individual communication devices to Syria through an illegal border crossing at Deir al-Ashaer in the Rashayya region.

The National News Agency reported that the army halted a pickup truck loaded with equipment as it was attempting to enter Syria.

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Miqati Sources: No Party Has Authority to Boss PM around Administrative Appointments

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government is seeking to launch a “productive workshop” to address the people’s concerns, as well as address a new batch of administrative appointments.

The premier’s sources told the daily al-Liwaa Saturday that cabinet has the right to take any decision regarding an appointment of an official or his dismissal from his post.

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