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Mustaqbal Bloc Says Miqati Govt Must Stick to STL

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday noted that the list of demands it had submitted to Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati last week deals with "a number of political, national and ethical constants."

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting under ex-PM Fouad Saniora, the bloc said it was waiting for a "clear stance" by the PM-designate.

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Lebanon Files U.N. Complaint over Israeli Violation, Shami to Meet Ban

Amid increased Israeli military activity on the border with Lebanon in the past few days, the Lebanese permanent mission to the U.N. filed Tuesday a complaint against Israel with the Security Council over a recent border violation.

On January 24 an Israeli patrol crossed the technical fence into a disputed area between the occupied Shebaa Farms and the liberated outskirts of the town of Kfar Shouba.

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Aoun: Miqati Didn’t Pledge to Anything that Caused Collapse of Previous Government

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stressed on Tuesday that a new government will be formed in a few days, adding that the movement has not yet discussed with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati the distribution of cabinet portfolios it seeks to head.

He said after the movement’s weekly meeting: “Whoever wants to take part in the new Cabinet should accept the new reality and the opinion of the majority.”

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Arab Lawyers Call for Support for International Tribunal

Arab lawyers have called on Lebanon and the rest of the Arab world to embrace the Special Tribunal for Lebanon set up to prosecute the suspected assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Lawyers from the Arab world are meeting to discuss the tribunal as it prepares to publish the first indictment — expected within a few weeks — naming suspects in the 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others.

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Williams Tells Berri that Cabinet Should Represent Interests of All Lebanese

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed to Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday the need for the formation of a cabinet that has “the broadest possible base.”

“I underlined with the speaker the need for the new government to have the broadest possible base and to represent the interests of all Lebanese,” Williams said after meeting Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

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Geagea: New Majority is Syria and Hizbullah, Miqati Didn’t Make Real Proposal on Cabinet Structure

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Tuesday that he conveyed to PM-designate Najib Miqati March 14 alliance’s fears of the new majority that he dubbed as Syria and Hizbullah.

Geagea told reporters in Maarab that he informed Miqati during a meeting they held at the PM-designate’s residence in Verdun on Monday that the March 14 forces had no problem with him as a person.

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Report: Miqati to Launch Consultations with March 8 Bloc Leaders after 3 Days of Negotiations with March 14

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has given himself three days to conduct consultations with major March 14 parties to receive a final answer from them on whether they want to participate in his government or not, a high-ranking March 8 official said.

The official’s visitors told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that Miqati’s consultations have already started with a meeting with Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel.

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Miqati: I Don’t Follow Anyone’s Agenda

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has stressed that he doesn’t “follow anyone’s agenda” even if Hizbullah and its allies brought him to power.

“I have a friendship with Hizbullah and I also have contacts outside of Lebanon, but it doesn’t mean I follow anyone’s agenda,” Miqati, 55, said in an interview with Bloomberg at his Beirut office.

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March 14 Tasks Geagea to Negotiate with Miqati, 2 Men Hold Meeting in Verdun

Premier-designate Najib Miqati reportedly held two-hour talks with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at his residence in Verdun on Monday night.

An Nahar daily said Tuesday that Geagea also stayed for dinner. The LF leader reportedly told the prime minister-designate that he was mandated by the March 14 forces to negotiate with him.

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EU Ready to Provide Further Funding, Says Tribunal should Continue its Work without Impediment

Europe's foreign ministers have reaffirmed their commitment to the international tribunal as an independent court and expressed readiness to provide it further funding.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon “must continue its work without impediment and with the cooperation of the Lebanese government,” the ministers said in a statement following one-day talks in Brussels on Monday.

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