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A group of March 14 officials and intellectuals will launch an initiative on Tuesday on ways to use the indictment that will be issued by the international tribunal to consolidate stability in Lebanon, March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid told Voice of Lebanon radio station.
The initiative, which will be in the form of a political document, will be announced at hotel Le Gabriel on Tuesday afternoon, he said. It will be aimed at consolidating stability and justice and paving the way for consensus among Lebanese.
Full StoryThe Israeli Mossad tried to assassinate Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to Beirut around 40 days ago, an informed Iranian source told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.
The source said that Tehran monitored attempts by the Israeli intelligence to carry out an assassination operation against Ahmadinejad during his visit to Lebanon in November through members of the Iranian opposition.
Full StoryHizbullah MP Mohammed Raad will hold a press conference at 10:30am Wednesday to discuss the upcoming indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Sources close to Hizbullah told An Nahar daily that Raad will unveil the party’s “constitutional vision” about the tribunal.
Full StoryPrime Minister Saad Hariri will not call for a cabinet session before making some consultations to avoid deterioration in the political situation, ministerial sources told An Nahar newspaper.
The possibility of holding a cabinet meeting was part of the discussions that Hariri held with President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Monday, the daily said.
Full StoryFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy will urge his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad to exert influence on his Lebanese allies to calm the situation in Lebanon, Arab diplomatic sources told al-Liwaa daily.
Assad will visit Paris on Thursday for talks with top French officials, including Sarkozy, who is making contacts with Arab officials involved with the situation in Lebanon to contain any incident that could erupt following the release of the indictment by the international tribunal.
Full StoryResistance is the only thing Israel understands, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday during a visit to Greece.
"History has shown that Israel understands no language other than resistance," Manouchehr Mottaki told a press conference on the sidelines of his two-day visit to Athens for talks with Greek leaders.
Full StoryU.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly stated Monday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon represents a chance for Lebanon to move beyond political violence.
She said after holding talks with Prime Minister Saad Hariri: "There is no possible justification for threats of violence in relation to the STL's legal and judicial activities."
Full StoryFormer minister Farid al-Khazen reported Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir as saying on Monday that the indictment is an "opportunity to test the Lebanese in confronting its repercussions if any Lebanese side is accused of being involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."
He urged the need to fortify the internal governmental situation so that it may be up to the task of tackling any development that may take place before the indictment's release.
Full StoryMimix, a technology that translates spoken and written words into sign language backed by a Lebanese team, is now in a standoff against Brazil's Mindle to win the Global Title.
Mimix won the regional award during YallaStartup weekend in Beirut. It then competed against 13 global cities and won the Global Startup Battle 2010.
Full StoryLebanon warned "Iran telecom" was taking over the country after uncovering a secret communications network used by Hizbullah two years ago, a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks showed on Monday.
The Beirut government was shocked at the discovery in April 2008 of the extensive communications system used by the powerful Shiite party, which receives military and financial support from Iran, according to the cable.
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