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Prince Muqrin: Lebanese Welcomed in KSA, We Won't Withdraw Deposits from Lebanon's Banks

The second Saudi deputy Prime Minister Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia is keen on the presence of Lebanese citizens on its territories, denying claims that it intends to withdraw deposits from Lebanon's banks.

“KSA is keen on maintaining the best relations with Lebanon,” Prince Muqrem said after meeting with a delegation of heads of the country's economic committees in Riyadh, adding that Lebanese presence on its territories is appreciated by everyone in the kingdom, on top of them is King Abdullah.

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Telecom Ministry Rejects Use of its Cables over Report on Hizbullah Network

The Telecommunications Ministry dubbed on Sunday illegal any official or unofficial attempt to install private telecom networks, saying it was keen on protecting its systems.

The ministry issued a statement in response to a report by Free Lebanon radio that Hizbullah has lately developed a wiretapping network and established several centers in areas that fall in Lebanon's western mountain range.

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SCC Warns Wage Scale Won't be Funded by the Poor

The Syndicate Coordination Committee warned the government on Sunday against funding the new wage scale for the public sector from the “pockets of the poor” as it pressed with its open-ended strike until the cabinet meets its demands.

At a protest organized by the communist party to reject “sectarian” electoral draft-laws and support the demands of civil servants, SCC activist Mahmoud Haydar said: “The battle and the open-ended strike will continue until the SCC's demands are met.”

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Qabbani Holds onto Election Date for Higher Islamic Council

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani reiterated on Sunday that only the Mufti has the authority to call for the election of the members of the Higher Islamic Council.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Qabbani said: “The person in charge of calling for the elections of the Council is the Mufti. He sets the date and urges the electoral bodies to vote for a new Council.”

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Berri Shrugs off Time Factor, Hopeful of Hybrid Vote Law Deal

Speaker Nabih Berri is hopeful that rival parliamentary blocs would find an alternative to the 1960 electoral law and the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal by agreeing on a hybrid draft-law.

“Don't be afraid of the time factor. We still have three and a half months until the elections are held on June 9 and I believe there is enough time to agree on a new law if all the parties are willing to reach consensus,” officials, who visited Berri, quoted him as saying.

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Suleiman Holds Onto Electoral Authority but Won't Reveal Options

Environment Minister Nazem al-Khoury stressed Sunday that President Michel Suleiman will not back off from his support for the establishment of the authority that will supervise the parliamentary elections in June and would take the necessary measures if the March 8 majority alliance rejected it.

In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, al-Khoury, who is close to the president, said Suleiman will return from an African tour on March 20 and will chair a cabinet session the next day to establish the authority and agree on the funding for the polls.

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Report: Nigerian Islamists Claim to Kill 7 Hostages, Including 2 Lebanese

Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru on Saturday claimed to have killed seven foreign hostages – including two Lebanese men -- abducted from a construction site last month in the country's restive north, SITE Intelligence Group said.

There was however no confirmation from Nigerian authorities or the countries where the hostages were said to come from. An official from the Lebanese-Nigerian construction company, Setraco, told Agence France Presse he was aware of the report but could not confirm it.

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Gemayel Urges Feasible Alternative to Orthodox Law, Says Settlement Possible

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Saturday revealed that “contacts are ongoing between a group of leaders in order to reach common ground and a settlement over the electoral law.”

“There is an inclination to endorse a hybrid electoral law that enjoys consensus and no one has an interest in instability,” Gemayel said in an interview on Al-Jazeera television.

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Raad: Resistance Won't Be Dragged into Sunni-Shiite Strife

Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, on Saturday accused what he called “the local and regional agents” of “hiding behind the fabricated trend of Takfirism (Islamist extremism) with the aim of provoking the Resistance and dragging it into a confrontation that takes the form of a Sunni-Shiite strife.”

“But they do not want the dignity of the Sunni community or the Shiite community, they rather want to weaken everyone and keep them under their hegemony so that they can continue to have the upper hand in the region,” Raad added.

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Suleiman Meets Mansour, Says Stances Should Reflect Dissociation Policy

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday that any stance taken by government officials, in particular, the Foreign Minister should reflect the state's dissociation policy.

“Stances taken by government officials and ministers, in particular the FM, in international forums should reflect (the dissociation policy) without any confusion,” Suleiman said after talks with FM Adnan Mansour at the Baabda Palace.

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